The Kakar (

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

: کاکړ) is a Gharghashti

Pashtun tribe The Pashtun tribes ( ps, پښتانه قبايل), historically also known as Afghan tribes, are the tribes of the Pashtun people, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who use the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali code of conduct. They ar ...

, based mostly in Northern Balochistan,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Loy Kandahar Lōy Kandahār ( ps, لوی کندهار, lit. "Greater Kandahar") is a historical and cultural region of Afghanistan, comprising the modern Afghanistan provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Farah, Uruzgan, as well as parts of Nimruz and Zabul, ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Legendary origin

Kakars are sons of Gharghashti who was the son of Qais Abdul Rashid. In

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

, the Kakar are locally called Kak. Historically, the tribe has been called Kak-kor (lit. family of Kak). The tomb of Kakar (or Kak) is in front of Herat central Jamia Masjid's gate. Some historians argue that Kakar was first buried in Kohistan, but Ghiyath al-Din Ghori brought the body to be re-buried in a mosque in the city of Herat.

History

Until the fifteenth century, Kakars along with Tajiks, Baloch and Farsiwans mainly inhabited the

Qandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the ca ...

region and because of the predominant position of Abdali and

Ghilzai The Ghiljī ( ps, غلجي, ; fa, خیلجی, Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settl ...

Pashtuns in

region during and around fourteenth century, Tajiks, Hazaras, Kakars and Baloch lost their previous possessions and were forced to pay tax or revenue to warlords from either Abdali or Ghilzai tribal divisions. In these areas, the locals were not displaced yet subjugated. They were reduced to the status of peasant "''riay'at''" or tenants "''himsaya''". Eventually, some of these indigenous people assimilated and became part of dominant Pashtun confederacy, while others moved further west or north Afghanistan.Norris 1967: 295 Prior to the

partition of British India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

members of the Kakar tribe, known as Sheen Khalai, resided in the Qila Abdullah

Qila Saifullah Killa Saifullah ( ps, قلعه سيف الله), also Qilla Saifullah is a city in Killa Saifullah District, Balochistan, Pakistan.) is a district in northwestern Balochistan province, Pakistan. Killa Saifullah is famous for its fertile soil produ ...

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

Loralai Loralai ( ps, لورلايي, ur, ), also known as Bori ( ps, ), is the division headquarter of Loralai Division and district headquarter of Loralai District. It is in the northeast of Balochistan province in Pakistan. It is above sea level ...

and Maikhter regions of province of Baluchistan now in

. After 1947, they migrated to Unniara,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

and other parts of India.

Notable people

Anwar ul Haq Kakar Anwar ul Haq Kakar is a Pakistani politician who has been a Member of the Senate of Pakistan, since March 2018. Political career Kakar was elected to the Senate of Pakistan as an independent candidate on general seat from Balochistan in 2018 Pa ...

, Pakistani Politician and Senator *

Rozi Khan Kakar Rozi Khan Kakar ( ur, ) is a Pakistani politician and chief of the Sultanzai tribe who has been a member of Senate of Pakistan, since March 2012. Education He has the degree of Bachelor of Laws and a degree of the Master of Arts. Political car ...

, Pakistani Senator from Quetta *

Usman Kakar Usman may refer to: People *Usman (name), a name of Arabic origin. *Hadiza Bala Usman (born 1976), Nigerian activist and politician * Kamaru Usman, a mixed martial artist in the Ultimate Fighting Championship *Usman Janatin, an Indonesian marine ex ...

, Pakistani politician and Senator from Muslim Bagh * Arfa Siddiq Kakar, Pakistani politician and Pashtun human rights activist from Muslim Bagh *

Nashenas Dr. Mohammad Sadiq Fitrat, born Sadiq Fitrat Habibi, (Pashto/Dari: ), known professionally as Nashenas (Pashto/Dari: ), is one of the oldest surviving musicians from Afghanistan. His fame began in the late 1950s, and since then he has produced ma ...

, Afghan Singer *

Faizullah Kakar Faizullah Kakar ( ps, فيض الله كاكر, fa, فيض الله كاكر, born 24 December 1950) is a retired Afghan epidemiologist. He retired from civil service on 30 March 2020. He previously served as the Chief of Staff to President Ashra ...

, Afghan epidemiologist and public leader *

Sanzar Kakar Sanzar Kakar is an entrepreneur and business leader. Kakar is the Chairman of AHG, an international professional business services firm. Education Kakar attended elementary school at Beaconhouse Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan; middle scho ...

, Afghan business leader *

Kader Khan Kader Khan (22 October 1937 – 31 December 2018) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and film director. As an actor, he appeared in over 300 Bollywood films after his debut film in the 1973 film '' Daag'', starring Rajesh Khanna, in which he ...

, Indian Actor *

Dadullah Dadullah (1966 – May 11, 2007) was the Taliban's senior military commander in Afghanistan until his death in 2007. He was also known as Maulavi or Mullah Dadullah Akhund ( ps, ملا دادالله آخوند). He also earned the nickname of ...

Afghan Taliban senior commander *

Muhammad Sarwar Khan Kakar Muhammad Sarwar Khan Kakar ( ps, سرور خان کاکړ) was a former politician and head of the Pashtun Kakar tribe in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. He was from the Barshore and Toba Kakar Ranges area of Pishin District. He was born ...

, was a Pakistani Senator *

Hafiz Sahar Hafiz Sahar (1928–1982) was an academic scholar, educator, author, Fulbright Scholar, and Professor of Journalism in both Afghanistan and United States Universities. He was Editor-in-Chief of Eslah national newspaper of Afghanistan (1955–195 ...

, Editor-in-Chief of national newspaper in Afghanistan (1970s), Fulbright Scholar, Professor of Journalism and Mass communication in Afghanistan and USA. *

Mohammad Rabbani Mullah Mohammad Rabbani Akhund (1955 – 16 April 2001) was one of the main leaders of the Taliban movement who served as Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. He was second in power only to the supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed O ...

Prime Minister of Afghanistan The prime minister of Afghanistan ( ps, د افغانستان لومړی وزیر; prs, رئیس‌الوزرای افغانستان) is the head of government of Afghanistan. The position was created in 1927 as an official appointed by the Kin ...

under Taliban regime. *

Abdul Waheed Kakar General Abdul Waheed Kakar ( ur, ; born 23 March 1937), was a senior officer of the Pakistan Army who served as the 5th Chief of Army Staff, appointed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 12 January 1993 upon death of his predecessor Asif Nawaz ...

, Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army (1993–1996) *

Abdur Rab Nishtar Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar (13 June 1899 – 14 February 1958) was a Pakistani Muslim League politician from North-West Frontier Province.Safwat Ghayur Additional Inspector General of Police Safwat Ghayur (14 July 1959 – 4 August 2010) was a senior two-star police officer serving in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan as commandant of the Frontier Constabulary. He was a respected po ...

, commandant of Pakistan's

Frontier Constabulary The Frontier Constabulary ( ur, ) is a federal paramilitary force of Pakistan under the control of the Interior Secretary of Pakistan, which is largely drawn from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but operates in several districts of Pakistan. It ...

* Mullah Bakht alias

Mansoor Dadullah Mullah Mansoor Dadullah (died 2015) was Mullah Dadullah's younger half-brother who succeeded him as a senior military commander of the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. He came from the Arghandab district of Kandahar province, and belonged to the ...

, Senior Afghan

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

Commander *

Owais Ahmed Ghani Owais Ahmed Ghani (Urdu: ), a mechanical engineer by profession, is the former governor of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, who previously governed southwestern province of Balochistan for four and a half years. He became active in ...

, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (N-W.F.P.), Pakistan. Governor Balochistan, Pakistan. Federal Minister, Provincial Minister (N-W.F.P) Pakistan, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (founding member) * Palay Khan (Palay Shah), was from Khosthi Syed Tribe anti-Raj fighter * Nawab Muhammad Ayaz Khan Jogezai, Pakistani Politician

References

{{Authority control Gharghashti Pashtun tribes Pashto-language surnames Pakistani names Social groups of Pakistan

Legendary origin

History

Notable people

Further reading

References