Ali Maisam Nazary (Persian: علی میثم نظری, born 1990) is an Afghan politician; since August 2021, he has been Head of Foreign Relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF).
Ali Maisam Nazary | |
|---|---|
 | |
| National Resistance Front of Afghanistan Head of Foreign Relations | |
| Assumed office August 2021 | |
| Leader | Ahmad Massoud |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1990 (age 33–34) |
| Political party | National Resistance Front of Afghanistan |
| Other political affiliations | Massoud Foundation |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles London School of Economics |
| Website | |
Education
editAli Nazary is an alumnus of the University of California, Los Angeles and the London School of Economics.[1][2] He graduated from UCLA in 2012, with a degree in political science and Middle Eastern studies, and from LSE in 2013 with a master's in international relations.[3][4]
Career
editAli Nazary began his career in communications at Khorasan TV, hosting a weekly show on politics and current affairs in Afghanistan. He then was Director of Media Affairs for Abdullah Abdullah's 2014 presidential campaign, and following the election, Nazary took a hiatus from politics to work as an Afghan and Central Asian government relations specialist at Bellwether Partners, overseeing international relations consulting and management projects.[5] In 2016, he also became president of the Massoud Foundation USA, the U.S. branch of the Massoud family's Afghanistan based relief organization, a position he continues to hold, being entrusted to perform duties such as transcribing and translating portions of Ahmad Shah Massoud's diary for usage in publication.[2][6] In the summer of 2018, Nazary received confidential information that the American government was seeking to enter into direct negotiations with the Taliban and from that point onwards he became a staunch critic of the resulting Doha Agreement (2020).[7][8] In September 2019, he attended a large rally of over 30,000 people in Panjshir that led to the launch of Ahmad Massoud's political movement, of which Nazary became a founding member.[9]
National Resistance Front
editAs tensions between the Taliban and the government grew amidst the drawdown of NATO forces from Afghanistan, Nazary served as a chief foreign policy advisor and a liaison between Ahmad Massoud and foreign diplomats up until his departure from Kabul a few days after August 15, 2021.[10] With the fall of Kabul and Ashraf Ghani's flight from the country, Massoud allied with Vice President Amrullah Saleh (who had assumed the role of Acting President)[11] to form the National Resistance Front, based in Panjshir.
Subsequently, Nazary was appointed Head of Foreign Relations for the NRF.[12][13][14] His tenure has been characterised by legislative advocacy for international recognition of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan and a push for a democratic and decentralized form of governance in Afghanistan that would guarantee equal rights for all citizens regardless of race, religion, or gender.[15] He has been described as Ahmad Massoud's "point man".[16]
Publications
editArticles
edit- Nazary, Ali Maisam (12 February 2017). "نظام پارلمانی، تضمینی برای حکمرانی خوب در افغانستان". BBC Persian (in Persian).
- Nazary, Ali Maisam; Nishat, Zalmai (12 September 2020). "Peace in Afghanistan is impossible without an inclusive approach". TRT World.
- Nazary, Ali Maisam (19 August 2022). "What the Taliban Really Fear". Foreign Affairs.
- Cook, David; Nazary, Ali Maisam (23 May 2023). "Terrorist cells proliferate in Afghanistan". The Washington Times.
Scholarly chapters
edit- Nazary, Ali Maisam. "Cultural, Religious and Economic Integration: Future of Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations", in (eds.) Huma Baqai, Nausheen Wasi, Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations: Pitfalls and the Way Forward, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, 2021. pp. 75–88.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Megan McCallister (11 October 2021). "Alumnus Ali Maisam Nazary educates about Taliban takeover, crisis from new role". The Daily Bruin.
- ^ a b "Massoud Foundation Board of Directors". Massoud Foundation USA. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ Thomas Harding (3 December 2022). "Afghan resistance sees Taliban weakness as it seeks to exhaust the enemy". The National.
- ^ "Herat Security Dialogue-XI" (PDF). Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies. 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Bellwether Team". Bellwether Partners. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ Gall, Sandy (2021). Afghan Napoleon: The Life of Ahmad Shah Massoud. Haus Publishing. p. 316. ISBN 1913368238.
- ^ Massoud, Ahmad (2024). In the Name of My Father: Struggling for Freedom in Afghanistan. Republic Book Publishers. p. 147. ISBN 9781645720966.
- ^ "Peace in Afghanistan is impossible without an inclusive approach". TRT World. 12 September 2020.
- ^ Massoud, Ahmad (2024). In the Name of My Father: Struggling for Freedom in Afghanistan. Republic Book Publishers. pp. 151–152. ISBN 9781645720966.
- ^ Massoud, Ahmad (2024). In the Name of My Father: Struggling for Freedom in Afghanistan. Republic Book Publishers. pp. 48–49. ISBN 9781645720966.
- ^ "Afghan vice president says he is "caretaker" president". Reuters. 17 August 2021.
- ^ "Anti-Taliban resistance group says it has thousands of fighters". BBC. 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Resistance official: Afghans are answering the call for an uprising". CNN. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ "Afghan National Resistance Front: The battle continues". BBC Persian. 19 September 2021.
- ^ "What the Taliban Really Fear". Foreign Affairs. 19 August 2022.
- ^ Anthony Grant (11 April 2022). "In Democracy's Cradle, Free Afghanistan's Ali Nazary Talks of War and Resistance". New York Sun. Retrieved 30 June 2024.