Achakzai

The Achakzai or Achekzai (Pashto: اڅکزی; Persian: اچکزایی) are a Durrani Pashtun tribe that resides on both sides of the Durand Line, centered on Killa Abdullah District in Pakistan with some clans as far away as Afghanistan's Kandahar Province. ^{[citation needed]}

The Achakzai is a section of the larger Zirak Durrani tribe.^[1] Their name comes from the fact that they trace agnatic (patrilineal) descent from Achak Khan - the paternal grandson of Barak Khan, from whom are descended the Barakzai tribe of Pashtuns; thus, the Achakzai are a branch or sept of the Barakzai, who are themselves a branch of the Zirak Durrani tribe. ^{[citation needed]}

They are divided into two sub-tribes, namely:^[2]

• Gujanzai (whose branches are Hameedzai, Khawajazai, Ashezai, Nusratzai, Malezai, Usmanzai)
• Badinzai (whose branches are Yonus, Ghabizai, Kakozai, Shamshozai, Panizai, Piralizai Shabozai, Badizai)

• Mahmood Khan Achakzai (born 1948), Pashtun nationalist politician and chairman of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party
• Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, Pashtun nationalist revolutionary and resistance leader
• Abdul Raziq Achakzai (1979–2018), Afghan police chief who joined anti-Taliban forces in the 2001 Afghan War
• Abdullah Khan Achakzai, Afghan leader who fought against the British Raj, During the First Anglo-Afghan War. Balochistan's city Qila Abdullah is named after him.
• Ismatullah Muslim, A general who participated during the Soviet-Afghan War. First at the side of the Mujahideen, but later defected to the DRA.
• Mullah Abdur Razzaq Achakzai, a Taliban commander who partook in the fight against ISAF coalition forces during the battle of Marjah.
• Mohammad Abbas Akhund, Afghan-Taliban politician serving as of 2021 as Acting Minister of Disaster Management.

• Pashtun people
• Pashtun tribes

• Adamec, Ludwig W., ed. (1980). "Achakzai" (PDF). Historical and Political Gazetteer of Afghanistan. Vol. 5. p. 16.

• Encyclopedia Iranica: ACƎKZĪ
• tribalanalysiscenter.com (PDF)