Achakzai
From Milcord Complex Operations Wiki
| Achakzai [ Edit ] | |
|---|---|
| Ethnic Group | Pashtuns |
| Super-Tribe | Durrani |
| Parent Tribe | Zirak |
| Religion(s): | Sunni Islam |
| Language(s): | Pashto |
| Primary Location(s): | Chora District,Khas Uruzgan District,Quetta District,Mian Wali District,Qila Abdullah District,Spin Boldak District,Registan District,Pishin District |
| Subgroup(s): | Badinzai (Achakzai) |
| Traditional Disputes: | Nurzai,Panjpai (Durrani),Kakar |
| Traditional Alliances: | |
| Politically Supports: | Hamid Karzai |
The Achakzai (also Achakzay, Atsakzai, etc.) are a tribe in the Zirak branch of the Durrani super tribe.
Contents |
Origins
According to Pashtun genealogy, the founder of all Pashtuns, Qais Abdur Rashid, begat Sarban, who begat Sharkhbun, who begat Tarin. One of Tarin's sons, Bor Tarin, later took the name Abdali, and the tribe he founded is named after him.[1] In more recent times, the Abdali tribes have taken the name Durrani after Ahmad Shah Durrani.
Within the Abdali/Durrani tribal confederation are two branches, the Panjpai and the Zirak. The Achakzai fall within the latter branch. However, they were not always a distinct tribe. They were formerly part of the Barakzai tribe (another branch of the Zirak) but were separated from the rest of the tribe by Ahmad Shah Durrani to weaken rivals and prevent possible uprisings against his regime.[2]
Location
The Achakzai can be found in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Pakistan, they inhabit the regions of North and South Waziristan, Baluchistan, and the North-West Frontier Province, in particular the areas of Quetta, Qila Abdullah, and Mian Wali, Gulistan, Chaman, and Pishin. In Afghanistan, the Achakzai can be found across the southern part of the country in Uruzgan Province, mainly in Chora and Khas Uruzgan districts, Spin Boldak and Registan districts in Kandahar, Helmand, and as far west as Herat Province.[2][3]
Culture and Society
The Achakzai are traditionally nomadic and had a reputation for disunity and predation.[3]
Organization
A number of publications divide Achakzai into two major branches, the Badinzai and Gujanzai, each containing numerous subgroups.[3][4][5] The 1901 Census of India divides them somewhat differently, listing the main branches of the tribe as the Ashezai, Hamidzai, Akhiozai, Alizai, Azamzai, Bakrizai, Malezai, Alizai Nasratzai, Nasratzai, and Bianzai.[6] The Baluchistan District Gazetteer (1907) maintains the Badinzai-Gujanzai distinction, but only identifies the subgroups of the Gujanzai as the Ashezai, Hamidzai, Malezai, Nasratzai, and Usmanzai (this last group had only a handful of members while the others were recorded as being several thousand-strong).[7]
Politics, Conflicts, Alliances
Ghabizai-Hamidzai conflict
The Ghabizai (Badinzai) and Hamidzai (Gujanzai) subgroups of the Achakzai tribe have engaged in a decades-long violent conflict. An incident in the summer of 1992 left seven dead and 25 wounded when fighting broke out in the Gulistan Subdivision.[8]
Kakar and Nurzai
The Achakzai are traditional rivals of the Kakar and Nurzai tribes.[9]
The rivalry between the Achakzai and the Nurzai (a sub-tribe of the Panjpai (Durrani) also referred to as the Noorzai) is primarily located in the Spin Boldak and Panjwayi districts in Kandahar Province. During the Taliban regime the Nurzai controlled the lucrative border post with Pakistan in Spin Boldak, at the expense of the Achakzai. In 2001, with the collapse of the Taliban government, militias from the two tribes clashed over control of the borderpost until late in the year, when the Achakzai were able to gain support from a Barakzai ally of Hamid Karzai, Gul Agha Shirzai. With control of the border post and the funds through illegal taxation that they could extract from those crossing it, the Achakzai were able to "...harass their old rivals and brand them as Taliban, effectively pushing them over to the opposition." The conflict in Spin Boldak spread into Panjwayi District after Nurzai groups there heard of the violence against their tribal cousins in Spin Boldak and resisted attempts to deploy Achakzai-dominated security forces in their areas.[10]
Politics
The Achakzai are considered to be more secular than other tribes and largely supported the communists during the mujaheddin era.[11] The Achakzai tribal leadership generally supports Hamid Karzai and the government of Afghanistan and does not provide support to the Taliban.[2] Although, there at least two Achakzai tribesman in Taliban leadership positions, Abdul Razaq and Mohammed Hassan Rahmani.[9]
Since 2003 a dominant faction of the Achakzai from the Adozai clan have been led by Abdul Razak. Especially in Spin Boldak, Razak Achakzai control is assured by the strength of Razak's militia, which have been legitimized by the government as the Afghan National Border Police. These forces control the border post at Spin Boldak, which was the original cause of the most recent violence between the Achakzai and the Nurzai. Under the leadership of Razak, and thanks to his connections to key power-brokers in Kandahar such as Gul Agha Sherzai and Ahmend Wai Karzai the Achakzai in Spin Boldak have become a powerful politico-military and economic force.[12]
References
- ↑ Caroe, Olaf. The Pathans, 550 BC - AD 1957. London: Macmillan & Co LTD, 1965.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Achakzai Tribe." Tribal Analysis Center. October 2009. Accessed 10 Sept. 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Uruzgan Province." Program for Culture and Conflict Studies, Naval Postgraduate School. Accessed 10 Sept. 2010.
- ↑ Lumsden, H. B. The Mission to Kandahar. Calcutta: C. B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press, 1860. 70-72.
- ↑ Temple, R. C. "Remarks on the Afgháns found along the Route of the Tal Chotiali Field Force, in the Spring of 1879" in Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Part I., No. III. Calcutta: Baptist Mission press, 1880. 98, 104.
- ↑ Hughes-Buller, R. Census of India, 1901, Volume V-B, Baluchistan, Part III, Provincial Tables. Bombay: Times of India Press, 1902. 34-36.
- ↑ Hughes-Buller, R. Baluchistan District Gazetteer Series, Volume V., Quetta-Pishin District. Ajmer: Scottish Mission Industries Co., LTD., 1907. 69-73.
- ↑ "7 killed, 25 injured in tribe fighting in pakistan." Xinhua General News Service. 1 July 1992.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Quetta Shura: A Tribal Analysis." Tribal Analysis Center. October 2009. Accessed 10 Sept. 2010.
- ↑ Giustozzi, Antonio. Koran, Kalashnikov, and Laptop: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan. New York: Colombia University Press, 2008, 55-56.
- ↑ "Pashtun Tribal Dynamics." Tribal Analysis Center. October 2009. Accessed 7 Oct. 2010.
- ↑ Forsberg, Carl. "Politics and Power in Kandahar." Institute for the Study of War. Afghanistan Report No. 5, April 2010. 36-37.
