Mehsud

Mahsud (, also spelled Masood, Mahsood, Masud, Maseed or Mehsud (in Pashto) is a Pashtun tribe in South Waziristan, a tribal region in Pakistan. Mahsud are considered to be one of the bravest and toughest Pashtun Tribes. The Mahsud (Masood) tribe lives in the centre of South Waziristan valley, surrounded on three sides by the Darwesh Waziris, and being shut off by the Bhittanis on the east from the Derajat and Bannu districts. Two Pashtun tribes, Ahmadzai Wazir and Mahsud, inhabit and dominate South Waziristan. Mahsud are the second largest tribe of South Waziristan after Wazir. Within the heart of Mahsud (Masood) territory in South Waziristan lies the influential Burki (also known as Barak/Baraki/Urmar) tribe's stronghold of Kaniguram. The Burki are considered by other tribes/khels of South Waziristan to be close brethren of the Mahsud due to marital and other ties and the fact that the Burki have lived in and controlled Kaniguram for over a thousand years. Some Mahsuds (Masoods) live in Afghanistan, in particular in Loogar, Wardak, Ghazni, Kunduz, and Baghlan provinces, as well as in Germany and Great Britain.

The Mahsud (Masood) usually pronounce their name "Maseed." They are divided into three great clans or subtribes, namely Manzai, Bahlolzai, and Shaman Khel. Mahsuds (Masoods) usually call these Dre Maseed, meaning the Three Mahsuds. Each tribe has his own Khan.

In the words of Sir Olaf Caroe, who acted as the former governor of the British Indian Frontier,...
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