Name and origins[edit]

The family are descendants of Sultan Mohammad Khan (1795–1861), nicknamed "Telai" which means "possessor of gold"^[4] or "golden" (a nickname he was given because of his wealth and love of fine clothing),^[5] and his older brother was Dost Mohammad Khan who gained control of Afghanistan and became its ruler. Telai had a son named Yahya and Yahya's son, Sardar Mohammad Yusuf Khan, founded the Yahya-khel clan which was later named the Musahiban.^[4] According to Amin Saikal, "by 1905, Yossef and his brother, Asef, became the Amir's Musahiban-e Khas (Attendants par Excellence), from which originated the tribe name Musahiban".^[4]

Policies[edit]

The Musahiban have historically been known for a step-by-step, culturally progressive and tribally sensitive, evolution for the modernization and opening up of Afghanistan^[6] in contrast to the often more radically accelerated strategies promoted in the past.