Popalzai

Pedigree of King Dost Mohammad Khan of Afghanistan. Figure shows the branching of the Abdal dynasty into the Popal (founder of the Popalzai; spelled 'Fofal' in figure), Barak (founder of the Barakzai), and Alako (founder of the Alakozai) line. (The fourth branch, Achakzai, is missing.)

Popalzai or Popalzay (Pashto: پوپلزی‎, also known as Popal) are Durrani (formerly called Abdali or Bor Tareen) Pashtuns of Afghanistan and adjacent parts of Pakistan.

Origin

According to Hyat Khan's history of the Pashtuns, from their progenitor Bor Tareen, otherwise known as Abdal, are descended two main divisions: the Zirak and the Panjpai. The term Abdal, however, gradually superseded Bor Tareen and came into special prominence when Ahmad Shah Abdali, commonly known as Durrani, began his career of conquest.

The Achakzais are strictly a branch of the Barakzai but Ahmad Shah Durrani, himself an Abdal Tareen, fearing the growing numbers of the Barakzai, separated them from the parent stock, since which time they have remained distinct.

The Popalzai are found mainly in Afghanistan, but there are thousands living in Pakistan as well, mainly in the city of Peshawar.

According to scholars and popular sources, the Popalzai clan consists of approximately 7.5 million individuals and still growing, living on almost every continent in the world. Ethnographers have classified Abdalis as peripatetic tribes. Abdal is a well known peripatetic tribe in Turkey.

Notable people

• Ahmad Shah Durrani – founder of the Durrani Empire (predecessor of modern Afghanistan)
• Timur Shah Durrani
• Zaman Shah Durrani
• Mahmud Shah Durrani
• Shuja Shah Durrani
• Sultan Ali Shah Durrani
• Ayub Shah Durrani
• Shahzada Kamran Durrani – was born into the Sadozai dynasty and was the son of Mahmud Shah Durrani
• Shahzada Rehmatullah Khan Saddozai – was chief of the Sadozai tribe in Balochistan; a politician, Pakistan independence movement volunteer and founder of the Sadozai Qaumi Welfare Organization
• Hayatullah Khan Durrani – famous Pakistani caver, explorer, mountaineer, environmentalist, organizer and rescuer
• Abdul Ghani Baradar – deputy minister of defense in the Taliban government of Afghanistan up to 2001
• The Karzai family – politicians and businessmen in Afghanistan
• Naim Popal – Afghan singer living in the United States
• Abdul Ghafoor Khan Durrani – politician, Pakistan independence movement
• Ghulam Jilani Popal – leader of Afghan Social Democratic Party (Afghan Mellat)
• Mohammad Shafiq – Popalzai tribe elder in Pakistan
• Shahkur Ullah Durrani – former governor of State Bank of Pakistan and chairman of PIA
• Dr. Ayatullah Durrani – former minister of state for industries & production, Pakistan; president of Pakistan People's Party, Balochistan, Pakistan; lives Mastung, Balochistan

See also

• Tareen
• Abdali
• Sadozai (Pashtun tribe)
• Pashtun tribes
• Pashtunistan
• Zahir Shah (last king of Afghanistan)
• Barakzai (another tribe)