The Zadran (Pashto: ځدراڼ dzadrāṇ; pronounced dzādroṇ in the Khost-Paktia dialect), also spelled Dzadran or Jadran, Jandran, zadroon, is a Pashtun tribe that inhabits the Loya or greater Paktia region in southeastern Afghanistan (Khost, Paktia, and Paktika provinces) and Kurram Agency parts of Waziristan in neighboring Pakistan. "Zadran: Pashtun tribe mainly residing in the “Zadran Arc” a 9-district area encompassing portions of the Khost, Paktia, and Paktika and Pakistan’s Kpk Balochistan Punjab provinces."[1][2][3][4]
The Zadran’s are a branch of the Karlani tribal confederacy.[5][6] They are the largest Pashtun tribal group in Afghanistan's mountainous southeastern region, usually found in areas that are unsuitable for settled agricultural production. They have a reputation for militancy dating to the Soviet–Afghan War. Well-known Taliban fighter Jalaluddin Haqqani, who in later years headed the Haqqani network, is of the Zadran tribe himself, though he is recognized for ending the malik system by forcing [Malik Guhlam Rasool] [Malik Kuhdai Noor Khan ] Malik Main Khan Zadran the most powerful Malik to Leave Pakistan Province]] Balochistan Mohammad Omar Babrakzai to leave Paktia province. Babrakzai was the most powerful malik, or tribal chieftain, of the Zadran in the 1980s.[7][8]