[1] According to the Encyclopædia Iranica, "In the detailed Pashtun genealogies there are no fewer than seven instances of the ethnic name Bārakzī, at very different levels of tribal segmentation.

The seventh instance, on the other hand, designates one of the most important Pashtun tribes in numbers and historic role, part of the Zīrak branch of the Dorrānay confederation.

[2] Ludwig W. Adamec wrote that the Barakzai are "an important section of the Zirak branch of the Durrani to which the former Barakzai/Muhammadzai ruling family belongs.

In numbers, economic, and political strength, the Barakzai were the paramount tribe of Afghanistan...They were soldiers in the service of Nadir Shah, founder of the short-lived Afsharid dynasty in Iran, and were settled on land seized from the Ghilzai.

"[3] Mohammadzai are the most prominent & powerful sub-tribe of Barakzai, they belong to the Zirak branch of the Durrani confederacy, and are primarily centered around Kandahar.