The fort of Killeh Abdooleh, and troopers of the Auchukzye Horse in 1842, as sketched by James Atkinson
The Achakzai is a section of the larger ZirakDurrani 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)
Adamec, Ludwig W., ed. (1980). "Achakzai" (PDF). Historical and Political Gazetteer of Afghanistan. Vol. 5. p. 16.
^Giustozzi, Antonio (2012). Decoding the New Taliban: Insights from the Afghan Field (Reprinted ed.). Hurst Publishers. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-84904-226-0.