Juma Khan Hamdard (Pashto: جمعه خان همدرد; born 1959) is an Afghan politician. He served as the security adviser to President Ashraf Ghani.[1] He served as governor of Paktia Province from 2007 to 2015, previously serving as governor of Baghlan and later Jowzjan province. He is the head of the alliance of H.A.A Councils.

Juma Khan Hamdard

جمعه خان همدرد
Hamdard in 2010
Governor of Paktia
In office
17 December 2007 – 2 April 2015
Preceded byRahmatullah Rahmat
Succeeded byNasratullah Arsala
Governor of Jowzjan
In office
September 2006 – 2007
Preceded byRoz Mohammad Nur
Succeeded byMohammad Hashim Zare
Governor of Baghlan
In office
4 February 2005 – 4 September 2005
Preceded by?
Succeeded byMohammad Alam Rasekh
Personal details
Born1959 (age 64–65)
Balkh Province, Afghanistan
ChildrenGul Rahman, Mohammad gul, Javid, Bashir, Abdullah and Obaidullah

Early life

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Hamdard is an ethnic Pashtun of the Wardak tribe from Mazari Sharif. He was born in 1959 in Balkh Province.[2]

Career

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He became a popular leader of the Pashtun community of Balkh and Mazar-i-Sharif. Hamdard was a member of Hezbi Islami and fought against the Soviets under the leadership of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. In 1994, his Party Hezbi Islami allied with Abdul Rashid Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek, against the Shura-e Nazar. In 1997, he helped the Taliban's side against Dostum's forces in a bloody campaign.

Following the US-led coalition's invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, Hamdard resumed a weak alliance with Dostum's forces. On the eve of the presidential election in October 2004, he pledged support to Karzai. He became governor of Baghlan, and later Jowzjan.

Dostum's power base was in the ethnic Uzbek heartland. His Uzbek supporters did not want an ethnic Pashtun as governor. In May 2007 police forces under governor Juma khan Hamdard shot at militant Uzbek demonstrators, while they were trying to force their way into the Governor's office in Sheberghan, killing 13 and injuring more than 30. On December 17, 2007, he was appointed governor of Paktia Province, replacing Rahmatullah Rahmat.[2] Hamdard is one of President Karzai's tribal affairs advisors.

Juma Khan Hamdard is an important personality of northern Afghanistan. He has played a pivotal role in safeguarding the interests of the Pashtuns. He enjoys a mass base of support among the Pashtun settlers in the Northern Afghanistan. He was a military commander and politician. Since the fall of the communist regime in 1992, he has trodden a very cautious approach in protecting the interests of Pashtuns in Northern Afghanistan in the wake of rising anti-Pashtun sentiments.

Personal life

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He has six sons, the eldest son Gul Rahman Hamdard is a member of the parliament.

References

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  1. ^ "President Ghani Announces Appointment of Four Senior Advisers". Archived from the original on 2015-06-12. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  2. ^ a b Province: “Paktya”. Naval Postgraduate School, Program for Culture & Conflict Studies
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Preceded by Governor of Paktia, Afghanistan
2007–present
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Governor of Jowzjan, Afghanistan
2006–2007
Succeeded by
Preceded by
?
Governor of Baghlan, Afghanistan
2005
Succeeded by