Zahir Qadeer Explained
Haji Abdul Zahir Qadeer (Pushto; Pashto: حاجی عبدالظاهر قدیر) is an Afghan politician and former member of the National Assembly.[1] [2] [3] [4] He was previously a General in Afghanistan's Border Guard, serving as 8th Border Battalion Commander, Takhar Province.[5] In 2010 he was elected to the House of the People as the member for Nangarhar, and was elected First Deputy Speaker in 2012.
Zahir Qadeer is the son of Haji Abdul Qadeer, a senior member of the anti-Taliban United Islamic Front (Northern Alliance) and one of the first Vice Presidents of the Afghan Transitional Administration. Zahir Qadeer's father and brother-in-law were assassinated on 8 July 2002.[6]
He was born to a Pashtun family that has long-standing ties with Mohammed Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan. He graduated from a high school in Saudi Arabia and studied law in Pakistan.[7]
Zahir Qadeer and two other anti-Taliban leaders were freed from a Taliban prison in 1999 by Abdul-Razzaq Hekmati and Hekmatullah Hekmati, two former Mujahids who had served with the Taliban when they became disillusioned.[5]
On 30 August 2017, at least two security guards were killed in a suicide attack targeting his residence in Jalalabad.[8] Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.[9]
Notes and References
- News: Afghan House Speaker Votes End with no Results . TOLO News. January 2011.
- News: A year of living on the edge. The Guardian. October 6, 2002. 2007-12-31. London. Jason. Burke.
- News: Pak seals border temporarily following shootout in Afghanistan. Outlook India. November 8, 2002. 2007-12-19. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080521192832/http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?gid=40&id=95776. May 21, 2008.
- News: Border clashes open new Afghan front line. https://web.archive.org/web/20061210003507/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/07/18/wafg118.xml. dead. December 10, 2006. The Telegraph. July 18, 2003. 2007-12-19. London.
- News: Time Runs Out for an Afghan Held by the U.S.. New York Times. Carlotta Gall, Andy Worthington. February 5, 2008. 2008-02-05. Two of those officials were men Mr. Hekmati had helped escape from the Taliban’s top security prison in Kandahar in 1999: Ismail Khan, now the minister of energy; and Hajji Zaher, a general in the Border Guards. Both men said they appealed to American officials about Mr. Hekmati’s case, but to no effect.“What he did was very important for all Afghan people who were against the Taliban,” Hajji Zaher said of Mr. Hekmati’s role in organizing his prison break. “He was not a man to take to Guantánamo.” Hajji Zaher, whose father served as vice president under Mr. Karzai for six months, warned that the case of Mr. Hekmati, who is widely known here by his nickname, Baraso, would discourage Afghans from backing the government against the Taliban. “No one is going to help the government,” he said..
- News: Abdul Qadir: Key leader in Afghan struggle. The Guardian. Meena Baktash. July 8, 2002. 2007-12-31. London.
- Web site: Qadeer, Abdul Zahir Haji Qadir Qader Zaheer . 27 August 2021 . afghan-bios.info . 14 May 2024.
- Web site: Suicide attack on Afghan MP's residence kills 2. Anadolu Agency. 30 August 2017.
- Web site: Islamic State claims attack on house of Afghan lawmaker . 30 August 2017 . . reuters.com . 14 May 2024.
