Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai

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Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai
شیر محمد عباس ستانکزئی
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai (cropped).jpg
Stanikzai in 2020
Acting Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan
Assumed office
7 September 2021
LeaderHibatullah Akhundzada
MinisterAmir Khan Muttaqi (acting)
In office
c. 1996 – December 2001
LeaderMohammed Omar
MinisterMohammad Ghous
Abdul Jalil
Mohammad Hassan Akhund
Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil
Succeeded byHimself (2021)
Head of the Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
In office
November 2015 – 24 January 2019
Acting: 6 August 2015 – November 2015
Leader
Preceded byTayyab Agha
Succeeded byAbdul Ghani Baradar
Personal details
Born1963
Baraki Barak, Logar, Afghanistan
NationalityAfghan
Alma materUniversity of Kabul, Indian Military Academy
Political affiliationTaliban
Military service
Allegiance Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
Branch/serviceEmblem of the Afghan Military from 1978-1979.png Afghan National Army
RankLieutenant
Battles/warsSoviet–Afghan War, War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai (Pashto: شیر محمد عباس ستانکزئی [ʃɪr mʊˈhamad aˈbɑs stɑnɪkˈzai]; born 1963) is a senior member of the Afghan Taliban and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs since 7 September 2021.

He was an officer in the Afghan National Army after training at an army academy in India. He defected from the army and joined Islamic movements to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. He was a deputy cabinet minister in the first Taliban government. He has been a senior member of the Taliban's political office in Doha since it was set up in 2012, and was its head from 2015 to 2020. He speaks English, Urdu, Pashto and Dari and has travelled widely to other countries as a Taliban political representative. On 7 September, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid announced the future Cabinet of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan; Sher Abbas was appointed as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs[1]

Biography and early life[]

Stanikzai was born in 1963 in the Abbas Qala area of the Baraki Barak district, in the Logar Province of Afghanistan.[2] He is the son of Pacha Khan[2] and is an ethnic Pashtun of the Stanikzai subtribe. He studied political science in Afghanistan,[3] gaining a master's degree. He can speak English, Urdu, Pashto and Dari.[2]

He trained as a soldier at the Army Cadet College of the Indian Army at Nowgaon in India for three years from 1979 to 1982 under an Indo-Afghan cooperation programme.[3] He was also an officer cadet for a year and a half[4] with the Keren Company of the Bhagat Battalion at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, one of 45 foreign cadets in the Keren Company. The Indian Military Academy trained cadets from a number of other countries in Asia and Africa. His fellow cadets nicknamed him "Sheru".[3] After graduating he was a lieutenant in the Afghan National Army.[5]

He defected from the army to fight against the Soviets in the Soviet–Afghan War,[6][7] first with Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi's Islamic and National Revolution Movement of Afghanistan, then with Abdul Rasul Sayyaf's Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan, as commander of its south-western front.[8] He had a role with Sayyaf in liaison with Pakistani military intelligence. He was more urbane than most Afghan mujahideen, and when in Quetta, Pakistan, in the 1980s he often dined at restaurants with his wife. Other mujahideen gossiped about this; in return Stanikzai criticised them for old-fashioned ideas about keeping women secluded in their homes.[9]

Taliban rule (1996–2001)[]

Stanikzai joined the Taliban in the 1990s. After they took power in 1996 he served as deputy minister of foreign affairs under foreign affairs minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil. Though he was reportedly not trusted by Muttawakil, he often gave interviews to foreign media, as he speaks English well. He traveled to Washington, D.C. as acting foreign minister in 1996 to ask the Clinton administration to extend diplomatic recognition to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.[10] In 1998 he reportedly drew the ire of Taliban leader Mohammed Omar, possibly related to issues of abuse of power and a loose attitude to alcohol, and was removed from his position and placed under house arrest. However, his connections with the Pakistani military intelligence agency, which had influence over the Taliban leadership, worked in his favour and a few months later he was appointed as deputy minister of health, albeit a less important position than in foreign affairs. Stanikzai denied misconduct and put his change of role down to routine ministerial changes.[9]

Taliban political representative, 2001–2021[]

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai (third from right) meeting US representative Zalmay Khalilzad (left) and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (obscured), Doha, Qatar on 21 November 2020

Stanikzai arrived in Qatar with Tayyab Agha and others in January 2012 to facilitate the opening of the Taliban's political office in that country.[11] On 6 August 2015 he was appointed acting head of the political office, replacing Agha, who had resigned. After his appointment, Stanikzai pledged his allegiance to Akhtar Mansour, saying "I and other members of the Political Office of the Islamic Emirate declare allegiance to the honorable Mullah Akhtar Mansoor." He was confirmed in his position as head of the political office in November 2015.[12][13][14]

From July 18–22, 2016, he traveled to China for talks with Chinese officials.[15] In February 2017, Stanikzai was denied entry to the United Arab Emirates.[16]

From August 7 to 10 2018, Stanikzal led a delegation of Taliban officials to Uzbekistan. The delegation met with Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov and Uzbekistan's special representative to Afghanistan .[17] From August 12–15, he traveled to Indonesia for talks with officials, meeting Indonesian First Vice President Muhammad Jusuf Kalla, Indonesia Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Hamid Awaluddin, Indonesia's special representative for Afghanistan.[18] He became the deputy head of the office in September 2020, replaced by Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai.

Taliban rule (2021–present)[]

Stanikzai addressed Afghanistan on national television and radio on August 30, 2021 where he spoke of the Taliban's desire for friendly relations with the United States, NATO and India, further stating that he would not allow Pakistan to use Afghan territory in its cold conflict with India. Stanikzai also spoke of the country's Sikhs and Hindus, stating that they can live peacefully and hoping that those who left will return.[19][20]

References[]

  1. ^ "Mullah Akhund to head 'caretaker' Taliban government in Afghanistan with Baradar, Hanafi as deputies". India Today. September 7, 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  2. ^ a b c Ahmad Shah Erfanyar (10 September 2020). "Biographies of intra-Afghan peace talks negotiators". Pajhwok Afghan News. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai: Top Taliban leader trained with Indian Army". CNBC TV18. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Army veterans remember top Taliban leader Stanikzai as 'Sheru' from 1982 IMA batch". India Today. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  5. ^ Ghosh, Poulomi (21 August 2021). "Who is Taliban leader 'Sheru', once trained at Dehradun's military academy?". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Ashraf Ghani slams Pakistan for waging 'undeclared war'". The Indian Express. 2015-06-02. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  7. ^ "'IMA Talib' a key figure in Doha talks with US". Hindustan Times. 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  8. ^ "Database". afghan-bios.info.
  9. ^ a b Mashal, Mujib (16 February 2019). "The president, the envoy and the talib: 3 lives shaped by war and study abroad". New York Times.
  10. ^ Burns, John F. (24 September 1997). "Islamic Rule Weighs Heavily for Afghans". New York Times.
  11. ^ Farmer, Ben (26 January 2012). "Taliban diplomats arrive in Qatar". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Taliban appoint top official to Qatar political office". Reuters. 24 November 2015.
  13. ^ "Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai Padshah Khan". 26 June 2017.
  14. ^ "Taliban resignation points to extent of internal divisions in leadership crisis". Agence France-Presse. Kabul. The Guardian. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Afghan Taliban delegation visits China to discuss unrest: sources". Reuters. 30 July 2016.
  16. ^ "Taliban Envoys Barred From Entering UAE - TOLOnews".
  17. ^ "Afghan Taliban delegation visits Uzbekistan to talk security, power..." Reuters. 12 August 2018.
  18. ^ "Taliban, Indonesian Officials Hold Talks On Afghan Peace - TOLOnews".
  19. ^ "Taliban leader hopes Afghan Hindus, Sikhs who left for India return".
  20. ^ "Want good relations with all neighbours, top Taliban leader tells News18". 30 August 2021.
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