Abdul Zahir

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This article is about the 20th Century Afghan politician. Not to be confused with Abdul Zahir (Guantanamo detainee 753), the alleged al Qaeda member.

Dr. Abdul Zahir (1910 - 1983) was an Afghan Prime Minister during the reign of King Zahir Shah.

Zahir was born in the city of Laghman in Nangarhar province. He attended secondary school in Kabul and university in the United States of America earning an MD from Columbia University and Master's degree in Public health from Johns Hopkins University. He became a medical doctor and returned to Afghanistan to practice medicine, but eventually entered politics. His political positions included terms as Minister of Health, President of the Parliament and Ambassador to Italy and Pakistan. Most prominently, he served as Prime Minister of Afghanistan from June 1971 to December 1972. A few months after he resigned from that post, Zahir Shah was overthrown and Abdul Zahir had to retire from politics.

Zahir was married to Quraisha and had four children. His son Ahmad Zahir was a popular musician. His eldest son, Asif Zahir (1932-2000) was also politically active during his lifetime as Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development in 1980s and he remained ambassador in Kuwait (1989-1992)and Italy (1992-1993). He resigned from his post and lived in Peshawar, Pakistan, where he started a campaign for peace in Afghanistan by setting up a political group called the Afghan National Movement (ANM).