The Achakzai or Achekzai ( ps, اڅکزی; fa, اچکزایی) is a
Pashtun tribe that resides on both sides of the
Durand Line
The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...
, centered on
Killa Abdullah District in Pakistan with some clans as far away as Afghanistan's
Kandahar Province
Kandahār ( ps, ; Kandahār, prs, ; ''Qandahār'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southern part of the country, sharing a border with Pakistan, to the south. It is surrounded by Helmand in the west, Uruzga ...
.
Identity
The Achakzai is a section of the larger
Zirak
The Zirak is a tribal confederation of Durrani (Abdali) Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Tribes
Among the tribes that form a part of the confederation are:
* Popalzai
* Achakzai
* Alikozai
* Barakzai
* Mastay
* Mohammadzai
* Alakozai
...
Durrani tribe.
Their name comes from the fact that they trace
agnatic
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
(
patrilineal
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...
) descent from Achak Khan - the paternal grandson of Barak Khan, from whom are descended the
Barakzai
Bārakzai ( ps, بارکزی, ''Bārakzay;'' plur. ps, بارکزي, ''Bārakzī'') is the name of a Pashtun tribe from present-day, Kandahar, Afghanistan. '"Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtuns and it means "son of Barak" in Pashto ...
tribe of Pashtuns; thus, the Achakzai are a branch or sept of the Barakzai, who are themselves a branch of the
Zirak Durrani tribe.
They are divided into two sub-tribes, namely:
[Talebi, Abdul Latif Yaad. ''Pashtanay Qabeelay''. 2nd ed. Peshawar: Danish, 2007. Print. p.10-12]
* Gujanzai (whose branches are Hameedzai, Khawajazai, Ashezai, Nusratzai, Malezai, Usmanzai)
* Badinzai (whose branches are Yonus, Ghabizai, Kakozai, Shamshozai, Panizai, Piralizai Shabozai, (Badizai)
See also
*
Pashtun people
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...
*
Pashtun tribes
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 a ...
References
*
External links
Encyclopedia Iranica: ACƎKZĪtribalanalysiscenter.com
(PDF)
{{Pashtun tribes
Durrani Pashtun tribes