Afghan Biographies

Achekzai, Abdul Khan


Name Achekzai, Abdul Khan
Ethnic backgr. Pashtun
Date of birth 1907
Function/Grade Pashtun Leader
History and Biodata

3. Biodata:
Khan Shaheed Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai was born circa. 7 July 1907 and died 2 December 1973  was a Pashtun nationalist and political leader from Quetta, Pakistan. Known as "Khan Shaheed", he became the founder and head of Anjuman-i-Watan, Wror Pashtoon and Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party. He was repeatedly imprisoned for 35 years both during the British Indian and the Pakistani government for secessionist activities. During the Independence Movement, "Anjuman-i-Watan" was first political organ in Baluchistan launched by Khan Shaheed. he was a member of the Congress party in the Balochistan area of British India, and campaigned for Pashtun autonomy in a united secular India, along with Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan) in the then North-West Frontier Province. A follower of Mohandas Gandhi, he was known by many as the "Baloch Gandhi". He was a member of the National Awami Party (NAP), before forming a breakaway Pakhtunkhwa National Party and later on Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party. He was member of the Balochistan Provincial Assembly at the time of his assassination in December 1973. After Samad Khan's demise, his son Engineer Mahmood Khan Achakzai was elected the chairman of the party.

Abdul Samad Khan Achekzai has nothing to do with the following person:
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) 20120302 designated improvised explosive devices (IED) facilitator Abdul Samad Achekzai (aka: Samad) for acting for or on behalf of the Taliban pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224.

This is the first sanctions action specifically targeting the Taliban’s IED manufacturer and support network. Samad, as recently as mid-2010, was responsible for and tasked with IED component procurement and storage, detonator construction and IED training in support of Taliban fighters in western and southern Afghanistan.

Samad has also participated in attacks in Afghanistan on behalf of the Taliban. As of early 2011, Samad was working with a Taliban member to assassinate an Afghan Border Police commander and had recruited a suicide bomber for the operation. Additionally, in early 2011, Samad deployed five suicide bombers to Afghanistan to conduct attacks on Coalition Forces and Afghan authorities. In early 2010, Samad sent five Taliban suicide bombers to Qandahar to target Afghan authorities.

Last Modified 2012-10-27
Established 2012-03-03