Mahmud Khan Achakzai (; born 14 December 1948) is a Pakistani

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

regionalist politician who is the Chairman of

Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party The Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (; ), abbreviated as PMAP or PKMAP, is a political party in Pakistan's Balochistan province. It was founded by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who was elected as the chairman, and Sher Ali Bacha, who served as the General ...

. Achakzai completed his Engineering degree from the Peshawar University of Engineering and Technology. In the 7th National Congress of Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party on 19 and 20 December 2022 Mahmood Khan Achakzai was re elected as the Chairman of PkMAP. He is serving as member of the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

since 29 February 2024.

Early life and education

Achakzai was born on 14 December 1948 to

Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai (7 July 1907 – 2 December 1973) (), commonly known as Khan Shaheed () (This title or name was given by the great Baba-e-Afghan Abdul Rahim Khan Mandokhail) was a Pashtun nationalist and political leader from the ...

. He received BSc degree in Engineering from

University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar The University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar (UET Peshawar), formerly known as NWFP University of Engineering and Technology, is a public university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Formerly known as ''NWFP University ...

in 1971.

Political career

Achakzai is a Pashtun nationalist who was elected as the chairman of the Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party (PNAP) following the assassination of his father

in a bomb attack in Quetta in 1973. PNAP and the Pakhtunkhwa Mazdoor Kisan Party (PMKP) of

Sher Ali Bacha Sher Ali Bacha (), commonly known as Bachajee (), was a Pakistani communist politician, Pashto language poet and human rights activist. He was one of the founding members of the Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP) and the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party ( ...

reached an agreement in 1986. As a result of this settlement, the

(PMAP) was created in March 1989 at a meeting in Quetta. Bacha was elected as the General Secretary of PMAP while Mahmood Khan Achakzai was the chairman. Achakzai was elected as a member of the

Provincial Assembly of Balochistan The Provincial Assembly of Balochistan is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan, and is located in Quetta, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 o ...

in a by election. Achakzai was elected as a member of National Assembly of Pakistan in the

1993 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 6 October 1993 to elect the members of National Assembly. The elections took place after both the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Ghulam Ishaq Khan resigned to resolve a power struggle. Prio ...

from Quetta constituency. Reportedly, he had won his first election with the support of

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...

. Achakzai lost the National Assembly seat in the

1997 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 3 February 1997 to elect the members of National Assembly. The elections were a fierce contest between Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by pre-election Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Mus ...

. Achakzai was re-elected as a member of National Assembly of Pakistan in the

2002 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 10 October 2002 to elect the 12th National Assembly and four Provincial Assemblies. The elections were held under the military government of Pervez Musharraf. The two mainstream parties, Pakistan ...

from the NA- 262 constituency however lost in the NA-259 (Quetta) constituency. In 2007, Achakzai parted ways with his ally PML-N and formed an alliance with the

Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; , ; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Aimal Wali Khan, g ...

. In 2008, he formed an alliance with All Parties Democratic Movement and boycotted

2008 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 18 February 2008 to elect members of the 13th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. On 3 November 2007 President Pervez Musharraf enacted a state of emergency; elections were initia ...

to deny the legitimacy of then President of Pakistan

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

. Although he boycotted the polls, he remained active in the politics. In February 2013, it was reported that Achakzai is being considered for the post of caretaker prime minister of Pakistan prior to the

2013 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on Saturday 11 May 2013 to elect the members of the List of members of the 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly and the four Subdivisions of Pakistan, Pr ...

, but he refused to become the caretaker prime minister due to reason that he intended to contest the upcoming general elections. Achakzai ran for seat of National Assembly from two constituencies, NA-259-Quetta and NA-262-Qilla Abdullah, in the

. From 11 to 14 March 2022, he was part of the

Pashtun National Jirga The Pashtun National Jirga (PNJ; ) or Pashtun National Court (), also known as the Khyber Jirga (), commenced on 11 October 2024 under the leadership of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) in the Khyber District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The ...

, which was held in

Bannu Bannu (, ), also called Bani Gul or Bani (, ) is a city located on the Kurram River in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the capital of Bannu Division. Bannu's residents are primarily members of the Banuchi tribe and speak Banuch ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

to discuss the critical issues faced by the Pashtuns in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the 2024 Pakistani general elections, Achakzai contested and won the NA-266 seat, making it the only seat the PKMAP managed to secure in the election season. Achakzai also contested for the 2024 Pakistani presidential elections. His candidacy was backed by the

SIC The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; ''thus'', ''so'', and ''in this manner'') inserted after a quotation indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated as found in the source text, including erroneous, archaic, or unusual spelling ...

. He lost to

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...

, who secured 411 electoral votes compared to Achakzai's 181 votes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Achakzai, Mahmood Khan 1948 births Living people Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party politicians Pakistani MNAs 1993–1996 People from Killa Abdullah District Politicians from Balochistan, Pakistan University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar alumni Politicians from Quetta Pashtun politicians Pashtun nationalists Mahmood Pakistani MNAs 2013–2018 Pakistani MNAs 2024–2029 Candidates for President of Pakistan

Early life and education

Political career

See also

References