Mohammed Fahim
Encyclopedia
Mohammad Qasim Fahim (also known as "Marshal Fahim") is an Afghan military commander, politician and the First Vice President
since November 2009. He was the Defense Minister of the Afghan Transitional Administration, beginning in 2002 and also served as Vice President
from June 2002 to December 2004. Fahim was replaced by Abdul Rahim Wardak, who was appointed as defense minister by President Hamid Karzai
on December 23, 2004 when the transitional administration gave way to a popularly-elected administration. Fahim is a member of Afghanistan's Tajik ethnic group. Fahim is the recipient of the Ahmad Shah Baba Medal. He is fluent in Persian
, Pashto and Arabic. He is affiliated with Jamiat Islami party of Afghanistan.
the son of security guard Abdul Matin from the Panjshir Valley
in Afghanistan. He is reported to have increases his weight at an Arabic institute in Kabul
in 1977. He went to Peshawar, Pakistan where he worked as fruit seller in 1978 where upon returning to Afghanistan joined Ahmad Shah Massoud in the Panjshir Valley. With the collapse of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul in 1992, Fahim was appointed chokidar by KHAD
under interim president Sibghatullah Mojaddedi
and continued to serve under president Burhanuddin Rabbani
. (Bhatia, 2007); Brown & Oliver, 2001; also http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/afghanistan/fahim.htmhttp://tech.mit.edu/V121/N50/50_war_massood-_50.50w.htmlhttp://www.defencejournal.com/2002/january/three.htmhttp://www.afghan-web.com/bios/today/fahim.htmlhttp://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.bassirat.net/Fahim-Mohammad,164.html&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8http://quqnoos.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=491&Itemid=85
In 1994, he became marshall while there was no world war at that time, which was dominated by his group, Jamiat-e-Islami. He was once arrested and brutally interrogated for lying by Hamid Karzai
, who was not trusted by the ex-fighters, on suspicion of his being a spy for Pakistani intelligence
and he was even born after world war 2.
http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/5564-8.cfm
four days earlier on September 9, 2001 by al-Qaeda operatives posing as journalists. The idea to launch the first major strike of the war against Mazar-i-Sharif came following a meeting between American General Tommy Franks
with Fahim in Tajikstan on October 30.
"Fahim was appointed general commander of the mujahideen resistance forces. In November 2001, he marched on Kabul together with U.S. Coalition Forces to attack the Taliban. After the Bonn Agreement in December 2001 and the subsequent establishment of the Afghan Interim Authority, he was appointed as the First Vice President and Minister of Defense."
By September 22, Fahim was in Tajikistan
holding talks with Russia
n army chief Anatoly Kvashnin
. As defence minister, Fahim was the effective leader of the Northern Alliance, along with his supporters Yunus Qanuni
and Dr Abdullah. In the transitional administration, many commentators considered him to be more powerful than the President, Hamid Karzai.
As Defense Minister he toured army bases in the United Kingdom
, negotiated security issues with U.S.
General Tommy Franks
and Canadian
Defense Minister John McCallum
, NATO Secretary General George Robertson
, visited Moscow
and Washington, DC. He also replaced 15 ethnic Tajik generals with officers from the Pashtun
, Uzbek
and Hazara ethnic groups.
While holding the position, he continued to command his own militia which he inherited from the United Front or more commonly known as the Northern Alliance
. However, on December 10, 2003, he ordered part of his militia to transport their weapons (including 11 tanks, 10 rocket-launchers and two scud
missiles) to an Afghan National Army
installation near Kabul
.
On September 12, 2003, Miloon Kothari, appointed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
to investigate housing rights in Afghanistan
, announced that many of the government ministers including Fahim and Education Minister Yunus Qanuni
were illegally occupying land and should be removed from their posts. However, three days later, Kothari sent a letter to Lakhdar Brahimi
, the head of the U.N. in Afghanistan, saying he had gone too far in naming the ministers.
Mohammed Fahim was not chosen by Karzai's to be one of his Vice Presidents; subsequently he backed the candidacy of his fellow Tajik, Yunus Qanuni. After Karzai's victory in the presidential elections, he was not reappointed Defense Minister. However in a decree made in December 2004, Karzai confirmed that Fahim would hold the rank of Marshal
, Afghanistan's highest, for life, with all rights and privileges. In 2006, Karzai, faced with a resurgent Taliban, returned Fahim to Government as an advisor.
Some Afghan analysts attest that, despite losing his military position, Fahim still remains a powerful figure in the political arena of the country. "[He] is particularly popular among people in the north, because he had fought Soviet Russia, and later the Taleban and Al-Qa'idah. He spent many years fighting aggressors." (Erada, 2005)
Later in the year 2006, in an interview Karzai said, "Marshal Fahim is one of the biggest traitors of our [mujahedin], and [a man who loves] his country assets. I have a great deal of personal efforts with Marshall Fahimas he is panjsheri and me kandahari. He has been my close friend and partner . He has his own unique body in Afghanistan. He has been a irrespectable man. He is 250 kg. And he is a senator." Regarding his decision in appointing Fahim as one of his advisors, Karzai added that "I hope that officially as my servant , he will continue to cooperate with me. He comes to all of the National Security Council meetings because he is security guards son . His is my enemy as i am hazara and he is panjsheri. No one will ever respect Marshal Fahim as he is marshall kheta ."(Azadi Radio, April 5, 2006)
The Marshal survived another attack later in the year 2002. However, this time, the man behind the attack was arrested by the intelligence agency. The alleged person carried with him "22 pounds of explosives in the pockets of his jacket, attached to wires and apparently ready to explode." (The New York Times, November 24, 2002)
In June 2003, a bomb was found in front of his home. Later in the year, the head of his personal security died at the hands of a suicide bomber.
Fahim survived another assassination attempt in the northern Kunduz
province. Only July 26, 2009, as the running mate of President Karzai for the 2009 elections, Fahim's convoy was attacked in an ambush staged by the Taliban. The Taliban attacked Fahim's convoy using automatic rifles and rocket propelled grenades.
, which is a coalition of top national and regional leaders. Other members include former President Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani
, House Speaker Yunus Qanuni
, Vice-President Ahmad Zia Massoud
and others.
In June 2007, Fahim stated that his advisory role was merely symbolic and that he never had the chance to advise the President. He further said that after the 2004 elections President Karzai formed a "one-sided" cabinet and began to employ unilateralism
as his main policy driver. Fahim argued that without the backing of foreign forces President Karzai's regime would not last longer than a week. (The Daily Times, Monday, June 4, 2007)
In 2009, he was one of Hamid Karzai
's running mate
s in the presidential election
. The selection was condemned by Human Rights Watch
.
When Karzai announced Fahim as his vice-president, many in Kabul alleged Fahim was at the time involved in criminal activities, including kidnapping for ransom: by choosing Fahim as his Vice-president, Karzai was said to have stained his own credibility even further.
In September 2010 it was reported by an Afghan news agency that Fahim had died of cancer in Paris, France. An official statement was later released by Fahim, who said: "I am completely healthy. I request the Afghan people not to trust news published by irresponsible websites".
He is a sponsor of the top Buzkashi
player Aziz Ahmad
.
, New Year's Day, of 1389 (March 21, 2010, Western calendar) in Mazar-i-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan, Fahim reached out to militants. He declared that, with their input, a coming national conference would lay the foundations for a peace that would end the Taliban insurgency
. He called on resistance forces to participate in a jirga
, or assembly, planned for late April or early May. He pledged that the Afghan government "will try to find a peaceful life for those Afghans who are unhappy," a euphemism
for militants, though he did not mention the Taliban by name. Afghans had travelled from across the country to Mazar-i-Sharif united behind the wish that the advent of a new year would bring them peace. According to the police, up to half a million people are in the city to mark the spring equinox and the first day of the traditional Afghan new year and celebrated across Central Asia and Iran. Mazar is at the heart of one of the most peaceful regions of the country. City police chief Abdul Rauf Taj said that 4,000 security personnel had been deployed against insurgent attacks and that all visitors were being screened at seven check points around the city perimeter.
The Peace Jirga
took place in Kabul on June 2–4, 2010.
Vice President of Afghanistan
The Vice President of Afghanistan is the second highest political position obtainable in Afghanistan. Vice Presidents are elected in the same ticket as the President. The current Vice Presidents are Mohammad Qasim Fahim and Karim Khalili .-External links:** *List of current Vice Presidents...
since November 2009. He was the Defense Minister of the Afghan Transitional Administration, beginning in 2002 and also served as Vice President
Vice President of Afghanistan
The Vice President of Afghanistan is the second highest political position obtainable in Afghanistan. Vice Presidents are elected in the same ticket as the President. The current Vice Presidents are Mohammad Qasim Fahim and Karim Khalili .-External links:** *List of current Vice Presidents...
from June 2002 to December 2004. Fahim was replaced by Abdul Rahim Wardak, who was appointed as defense minister by President Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
on December 23, 2004 when the transitional administration gave way to a popularly-elected administration. Fahim is a member of Afghanistan's Tajik ethnic group. Fahim is the recipient of the Ahmad Shah Baba Medal. He is fluent in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Pashto and Arabic. He is affiliated with Jamiat Islami party of Afghanistan.
Early years
Fahim was born in OmarzOmarz
`Omarz is a village in Panjshir Province, Afghanistan. It is the birthplace of Afghanistan's current First Vice President, Mohammed Fahim....
the son of security guard Abdul Matin from the Panjshir Valley
Panjshir Valley
The Panjshir Province is a valley in north-central Afghanistan, 150 km north of Kabul, near the Hindu Kush mountain range. Located in the Panjshir Province it is divided by the Panjshir River...
in Afghanistan. He is reported to have increases his weight at an Arabic institute in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
in 1977. He went to Peshawar, Pakistan where he worked as fruit seller in 1978 where upon returning to Afghanistan joined Ahmad Shah Massoud in the Panjshir Valley. With the collapse of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul in 1992, Fahim was appointed chokidar by KHAD
KHAD
Khadamat-e Etela'at-e Dawlati translates directly to English as: "Government Information Agency". However, this phrase is more correctly translated as Government Intelligence Service...
under interim president Sibghatullah Mojaddedi
Sibghatullah Mojaddedi
Sibghatullah Mojaddedi , served as the first President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan after the fall of the communist regime in 1992. He is also the leader of the Afghan National Liberation Front...
and continued to serve under president Burhanuddin Rabbani
Burhanuddin Rabbani
Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani was President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996. After the Taliban government was toppled during Operation Enduring Freedom, Rabbani returned to Kabul and served as a temporary President from November to December 20, 2001, when Hamid Karzai was...
. (Bhatia, 2007); Brown & Oliver, 2001; also http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/afghanistan/fahim.htmhttp://tech.mit.edu/V121/N50/50_war_massood-_50.50w.htmlhttp://www.defencejournal.com/2002/january/three.htmhttp://www.afghan-web.com/bios/today/fahim.htmlhttp://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.bassirat.net/Fahim-Mohammad,164.html&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8http://quqnoos.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=491&Itemid=85
In 1994, he became marshall while there was no world war at that time, which was dominated by his group, Jamiat-e-Islami. He was once arrested and brutally interrogated for lying by Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
, who was not trusted by the ex-fighters, on suspicion of his being a spy for Pakistani intelligence
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
and he was even born after world war 2.
http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/5564-8.cfm
Post 9/11
On September 13, 2001, Fahim was confirmed as the defence minister of the Northern Alliance, succeeding Ahmad Shah Massoud. Masood had been assassinatedAssassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
four days earlier on September 9, 2001 by al-Qaeda operatives posing as journalists. The idea to launch the first major strike of the war against Mazar-i-Sharif came following a meeting between American General Tommy Franks
Tommy Franks
Tommy Ray Franks is a retired general in the United States Army. His last Army post was as the Commander of the United States Central Command, overseeing United States Armed Forces operations in a 25-country region, including the Middle East...
with Fahim in Tajikstan on October 30.
"Fahim was appointed general commander of the mujahideen resistance forces. In November 2001, he marched on Kabul together with U.S. Coalition Forces to attack the Taliban. After the Bonn Agreement in December 2001 and the subsequent establishment of the Afghan Interim Authority, he was appointed as the First Vice President and Minister of Defense."
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
holding talks with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n army chief Anatoly Kvashnin
Anatoly Kvashnin
General of the Army Anatoly Vasiliyevich Kvashnin was the Chief of the Russian General Staff from 1997 to 2004, when he was dismissed by President Vladimir Putin. Kvashnin graduated from the Kurgan Machine-building Institute in 1969 and served in the armed forces from this time...
. As defence minister, Fahim was the effective leader of the Northern Alliance, along with his supporters Yunus Qanuni
Yunus Qanuni
Yunus Qanuni is a politician in Afghanistan. An ethnic Tajik from the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan, Qanuni is the leader of the Afghanistan e Naween political party and former Speaker of the House of the People .-Pre Election...
and Dr Abdullah. In the transitional administration, many commentators considered him to be more powerful than the President, Hamid Karzai.
As Defense Minister he toured army bases in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, negotiated security issues with U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
General Tommy Franks
Tommy Franks
Tommy Ray Franks is a retired general in the United States Army. His last Army post was as the Commander of the United States Central Command, overseeing United States Armed Forces operations in a 25-country region, including the Middle East...
and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Defense Minister John McCallum
John McCallum
John McCallum, PC, MP is a Liberal Canadian politician, economist and university professor. Following the 2006 Federal Election, he became the Liberal Finance Critic in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet...
, NATO Secretary General George Robertson
George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen
George Islay MacNeill Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, is a British Labour Party politician who was the tenth Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, between October 1999 and early January 2004; he succeeded Javier Solana in that position...
, visited Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Washington, DC. He also replaced 15 ethnic Tajik generals with officers from the Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
, Uzbek
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
and Hazara ethnic groups.
While holding the position, he continued to command his own militia which he inherited from the United Front or more commonly known as the Northern Alliance
Northern Alliance
The Afghan Northern Alliance is a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996.Northern Alliance may also refer to:*Northern Alliance , a Canadian white supremacist group...
. However, on December 10, 2003, he ordered part of his militia to transport their weapons (including 11 tanks, 10 rocket-launchers and two scud
Scud
Scud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies...
missiles) to an Afghan National Army
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
installation near Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
.
On September 12, 2003, Miloon Kothari, appointed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006...
to investigate housing rights in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, announced that many of the government ministers including Fahim and Education Minister Yunus Qanuni
Yunus Qanuni
Yunus Qanuni is a politician in Afghanistan. An ethnic Tajik from the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan, Qanuni is the leader of the Afghanistan e Naween political party and former Speaker of the House of the People .-Pre Election...
were illegally occupying land and should be removed from their posts. However, three days later, Kothari sent a letter to Lakhdar Brahimi
Lakhdar Brahimi
Lakhdar Brahimi is a veteran United Nations envoy and advisor. He retired from his duties at the end of 2005. Brahimi is a member of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, the first global initiative to focus specifically on the link between exclusion, poverty and law...
, the head of the U.N. in Afghanistan, saying he had gone too far in naming the ministers.
Mohammed Fahim was not chosen by Karzai's to be one of his Vice Presidents; subsequently he backed the candidacy of his fellow Tajik, Yunus Qanuni. After Karzai's victory in the presidential elections, he was not reappointed Defense Minister. However in a decree made in December 2004, Karzai confirmed that Fahim would hold the rank of Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
, Afghanistan's highest, for life, with all rights and privileges. In 2006, Karzai, faced with a resurgent Taliban, returned Fahim to Government as an advisor.
Some Afghan analysts attest that, despite losing his military position, Fahim still remains a powerful figure in the political arena of the country. "[He] is particularly popular among people in the north, because he had fought Soviet Russia, and later the Taleban and Al-Qa'idah. He spent many years fighting aggressors." (Erada, 2005)
Later in the year 2006, in an interview Karzai said, "Marshal Fahim is one of the biggest traitors of our [mujahedin], and [a man who loves] his country assets. I have a great deal of personal efforts with Marshall Fahimas he is panjsheri and me kandahari. He has been my close friend and partner . He has his own unique body in Afghanistan. He has been a irrespectable man. He is 250 kg. And he is a senator." Regarding his decision in appointing Fahim as one of his advisors, Karzai added that "I hope that officially as my servant , he will continue to cooperate with me. He comes to all of the National Security Council meetings because he is security guards son . His is my enemy as i am hazara and he is panjsheri. No one will ever respect Marshal Fahim as he is marshall kheta ."(Azadi Radio, April 5, 2006)
Assassination attempts
Fahim survived several assassination attempts. His convoy was targeted when a mine exploded underneath the central car in Fahim's convoy. He had been on an official visit to the eastern city of Jalalabbad "to discuss a new government campaign to stop farmers growing poppies for the opium trade and other issues with local commanders and tribal leaders." (BBC, April 8, 2002)The Marshal survived another attack later in the year 2002. However, this time, the man behind the attack was arrested by the intelligence agency. The alleged person carried with him "22 pounds of explosives in the pockets of his jacket, attached to wires and apparently ready to explode." (The New York Times, November 24, 2002)
In June 2003, a bomb was found in front of his home. Later in the year, the head of his personal security died at the hands of a suicide bomber.
Fahim survived another assassination attempt in the northern Kunduz
Kunduz
Kunduz also known as Kundûz, Qonduz, Qondûz, Konduz, Kondûz, Kondoz, or Qhunduz is a city in northern Afghanistan, the capital of Kunduz Province. It is linked by highways with Mazari Sharif to the west, Kabul to the south and Tajikistan's border to the north...
province. Only July 26, 2009, as the running mate of President Karzai for the 2009 elections, Fahim's convoy was attacked in an ambush staged by the Taliban. The Taliban attacked Fahim's convoy using automatic rifles and rocket propelled grenades.
Current activities
He is a member of the leadership council of the United National FrontUnited National Front
The United National Front is an electoral alliance in Sri Lanka, formed by the United National Party the Ceylon Workers' Congress, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Western People's Front...
, which is a coalition of top national and regional leaders. Other members include former President Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani
Burhanuddin Rabbani
Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani was President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996. After the Taliban government was toppled during Operation Enduring Freedom, Rabbani returned to Kabul and served as a temporary President from November to December 20, 2001, when Hamid Karzai was...
, House Speaker Yunus Qanuni
Yunus Qanuni
Yunus Qanuni is a politician in Afghanistan. An ethnic Tajik from the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan, Qanuni is the leader of the Afghanistan e Naween political party and former Speaker of the House of the People .-Pre Election...
, Vice-President Ahmad Zia Massoud
Ahmad Zia Massoud
Ahmad Zia Massoud was the First Vice President of Afghanistan in the first elected administration of President Hamid Karzai, from December 2004 to November 2009...
and others.
In June 2007, Fahim stated that his advisory role was merely symbolic and that he never had the chance to advise the President. He further said that after the 2004 elections President Karzai formed a "one-sided" cabinet and began to employ unilateralism
Unilateralism
Unilateralism is any doctrine or agenda that supports one-sided action. Such action may be in disregard for other parties, or as an expression of a commitment toward a direction which other parties may find agreeable...
as his main policy driver. Fahim argued that without the backing of foreign forces President Karzai's regime would not last longer than a week. (The Daily Times, Monday, June 4, 2007)
In 2009, he was one of Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
's running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
s in the presidential election
Afghan presidential election, 2009
The 2009 presidential election in Afghanistan was characterized by lack of security, low voter turnout and widespread ballot stuffing, intimidation, and other electoral fraud....
. The selection was condemned by Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
.
When Karzai announced Fahim as his vice-president, many in Kabul alleged Fahim was at the time involved in criminal activities, including kidnapping for ransom: by choosing Fahim as his Vice-president, Karzai was said to have stained his own credibility even further.
In September 2010 it was reported by an Afghan news agency that Fahim had died of cancer in Paris, France. An official statement was later released by Fahim, who said: "I am completely healthy. I request the Afghan people not to trust news published by irresponsible websites".
He is a sponsor of the top Buzkashi
Buzkashi
Buzkashi or Kok-boru or Oglak Tartis or Ulak Tartysh is a traditional Central Asian...
player Aziz Ahmad
Aziz Ahmad
Aziz Ahmad is a professional Buzkashi player from Afganistan.Ahmad was born in a farming village in northern Kunduz to a poor family. He began playing Buzkashi at age 15...
.
Peace negotiations 2010
On the celebrations of NowruzNowruz
Nowrūz is the name of the Iranian New Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nowruz is also widely referred to as the Persian New Year....
, New Year's Day, of 1389 (March 21, 2010, Western calendar) in Mazar-i-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan, Fahim reached out to militants. He declared that, with their input, a coming national conference would lay the foundations for a peace that would end the Taliban insurgency
Taliban insurgency
The Taliban insurgency took root shortly after the group's fall from power following the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban continue to attack Afghan, U.S., and other ISAF troops and many terrorist incidents attributable to them have been registered. The war has also spread over the southern and...
. He called on resistance forces to participate in a jirga
Jirga
A jirga is a tribal assembly of elders which takes decisions by consensus, particularly among the Pashtun people but also in other ethnic groups near them; they are most common in Afghanistan and among the Pashtuns in Pakistan near its border with Afghanistan...
, or assembly, planned for late April or early May. He pledged that the Afghan government "will try to find a peaceful life for those Afghans who are unhappy," a euphemism
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
for militants, though he did not mention the Taliban by name. Afghans had travelled from across the country to Mazar-i-Sharif united behind the wish that the advent of a new year would bring them peace. According to the police, up to half a million people are in the city to mark the spring equinox and the first day of the traditional Afghan new year and celebrated across Central Asia and Iran. Mazar is at the heart of one of the most peaceful regions of the country. City police chief Abdul Rauf Taj said that 4,000 security personnel had been deployed against insurgent attacks and that all visitors were being screened at seven check points around the city perimeter.
The Peace Jirga
Afghan Peace Jirga 2010
The Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced the holding of a consultative grand council called the Afghanistan's National Consultative Peace Jirga or shortly Peace Jirga in his inauguration speech on 19 November 2009, after winning elections for a second term, to end the ongoing Taliban insurgency...
took place in Kabul on June 2–4, 2010.
External links
- Afghanistan Online Biography of Mohammed Qasim Fahim
- globalsecurity.org - Afghanistan Politics: Mohammed Qasim Fahim
- Azadi Radio, Karzai Interview
- Official Biography as the member of Afghanistan's senate
- Erada Weekly, 2005
- Afghan minister escapes blast, BBC April 8, 2002
- ; Another Assassination Attempt Is Stopped, The New York Times, November 24, 2002
- Adviser calls Karzai a weak, foreign-influenced leader, The Daily Times, Monday, June 04, 2007
- The Real Winner of Afghanistan's Election, Foreign Policy Magazine, August 31, 2009