Yousef Pashtun

Mohammad Yousef Pashtun (Pashto: یوسف پښتون ‎) is the Senior Adviser to the President of Afghanistan on Construction, Mines, Water & Energy. He previously served as Minister of Urban Development and Housing for two terms (2002-2003, 2005-2010) and Governor of Kandahar province, in 2003 replacing Gul Agha Sherzai.^[1]

Biography

Yousef Pashtun, an ethnic Pashtun of the Barakzai tribe, was born in the city of Kandahar. He was born to one of the elite families of Kandahar on November 15, 1946. His grandfather, General Mohammad Nabi Khan was the Army Chief of Southern Zone of Afghanistan during the Third Afghan - Anglo War under the command of King Amanullah Khan. His father, Brigadier Mohammad Ghani Khan, served as Corps Commander of Eastern and afterwards Northern Zone of Afghanistan. He was graduated from Ahmad Shah Baba High School in 1965. He began studying Engineering at Kabul University, and being ranked in top 10 of Afghanistan's Higher Secondary Board Exam, he soon received a USAID/Kabul University scholarship to attend American University of Beirut in Lebanon, where Pashtun earned a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, and two Masters degrees, one in Architecture (1973) and Urban Design and Planning (1977).

After his double Masters, he worked in "Dar-ul-Handasa Design & Construction Company" in the Middle East. Under this company he worked on the master plans of Dubai and Ras-al-Khaima cities. After his return to Afghanistan he worked as a Lecturer in Engineering Faculty of Kabul University.

During Soviet invasion

After the Soviet Invasion, Yousef Pashtun escaped three times from Soviet troops and finally had to leave Afghanistan, and he took refuge to Pakistan. In Pakistan he started helping the Mujaheedin(The Afghan fighters against Soviet Troops). He started to provide Foreign aid to the Mujaheedin and also founded Al-Jehad Hospital for free treatment of Afghan Mujahideens. Having secret trips to Afghanistan to provide financial & Medical aid for the Mujaheedins, he worked a lot for the victory of Mujaheedins over Soviet troops. During the war against Soviet Invasion he formed strong ties with United Nations and then he founded several other NGOs like Mercy Corps International (MCI) for the agricultural development of Afghanistan, Demining Agency for Afghanistan (DAFA) and Rehabilitating Infrastructure for Rural Afghanistan (RIFRA) for the development of Afghanistan.

Taliban Era

After the Soviet withdrawal he was proposed so many posts in the Afghan Mujaheedin's Government but he refused and continued with his task of reinstating the Former King of Afghanistan Mohammad Zahir Shah. He lived in exile in Quetta, in Pakistan where he worked to reinstate the previous king of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah. During exile in Quetta, Yousef Pashtun along with some other Prominent Afghan Political figures like Abdul Ahad Karzai(father of Hamid Karzai), Hamid Karzai, Gul Agha Sherzai and other figures worked to reinstate the former Afghan king. He has also worked in the executive committee of Loya Jirga under the command of His Excellency Mohammad Zahir Shah (The father of the Nation and former King of Afghanistan).

Governor Yousef Pashtun briefing US Army Joint Task Force with Gul Agha Sherzai in Kandahar, 2003.

After the Fall of Taliban

During U.S. Invasion over Taliban Government in 2001, Yousef Pashtun along with Gul Agha Sherzai & and group of fighters attacked from the Southern Zone and captured the Kandahar city in 7 days. Afterwards when Gul Agha Sherzai was announced as Governor of Kandahar in January 2002, he worked as the Executive Co-Ordinator of Kandahar province to stabilize the local Government.

Kandahar Governor

Karzai's government ruled that officials could not hold military and civil posts simultaneously, hence he replaced Gul Agha Sherzai as the governor of Kandahar and appointed Yousaf Pashtun on 15 August 2003. Sherzai transferred the power peacefully as Pashtun was much close to him and they were from the same Barakzai tribe. Yousef Pashtun was seen as central government loyalist and more effective manager, Afghan officials said. International Community was also interested to work with him for the rehabilitation of Kandahar as he was an experienced Engineer & Technical Expert. Yousef Pashtun tried to enhance the development projects in Kandahar which will create more job opportunities for the locals, leading to the stabilization of the region. He was successful in his goals, to achieve development and peace in the province. As he was not known as a Tribal leader, but as an Intellectual, hence he was able to unite the tribes efficiently. During his term, he reduced the poppy cultivation by 40% in the province, he also worked on uniting the Governors of Southern Afghanistan(Kandahar, Helmand, Oruzgan, Zabul and Nimroz) to cooperate with each other. He worked on Kandahar's New master plan, rehabilitation of city roads and upgrading the local Municipality System in the city.

Minister of Urban Development

In 2002, he was appointed Minister of Urban Development and Housing under the Transitional Government, and a year later, was appointed Governor of Kandahar Province. In 2004 after the start of Republic Government of Afghanistan, he returned to Kabul resuming his role as Minister of Urban Development and Housing. In 2006 he got vote of confidence from the Parliament to resume his post as the Minister of Urban Development. As a Minister of Urban Development, he established an Independent Board for the Development of Kabul New City. The Board brings together key stakeholders, including relevant government agencies, as well as urban specialists and economists. The board prepared a master plan for the city in the context of Greater Kabul. The master plan and its implementation strategy for 2025 were endorsed by the Afghan Cabinet in early 2009. Soon, as a top priority, the initiative turned into one of the biggest commercially viable national development project of the country, expected to be led by the private sector. During his term, he was able to complete the Strategic expansion plans for all major cities of Afghanistan which counts up to 20 cities.

Pashtun in the inaugurating ceremony to start road construction in southern Afghanistan with Gul Agha Sherzai, Zalmay Khalilzad and Oruzgan Province Governor.

Minister Pashtun played the leading role in the rehabilitation of Current Parliament of Afghanistan. He is actively leading the Design and Construction of New Parliament of Afghanistan to be built by 2015.

Senior Adviser Minister to the President of Afghanistan on Construction, Mines, Water & Energy

In the second term of Hamid Karzai as the President of Afghanistan, he left the job of Minister and he was selected as the Senior Adviser Minister to the President of Afghanistan on Construction, Mines, Water & Energy. He is leading different National Technical Committees for Construction, Urban Development, Public Works, Mines, Transportation, Water & Energy.

Minister Pashtun was also a prominent candidate for the post of Director General, UN-Habitat representing South Asian Countries.

He has fluency in Pashto, Dari, English, Urdu, Arabic and Armenian languages.

Minister Pashtun is father of two sons and three daughters.

Public Image

Pashtun is much known for his strict fight against land mafia when he was Minister of Urban Development as well as Senior Adviser to the President. He is currently Head of the Committee for counter land grabbing and land mafia. He got much public acclaim when he revealed the name of Marshal Qaseem Fahim, the then Vice President of Afghanistan as the leader of land mafia and involved in several huge land grabbing cases in Afghanistan on National Television show. This interview portrayed his image as a Politician who is much blunt and not involved in political deals in Afghanistan. Some political analysts highlights his transfer from Minister to Senior Adviser to President as a move to keep him more involved in this fight against land mafia. Unlike Cabinet minister who is answerable to both houses of Parliament, Vice Presidents and other Government authorities, as Adviser of President he can perform his job without any interruption from Members of Parliaments or any other political group. He is also known as one of the most influential Adviser to President Karzai, especially on technical issues.

Publications & Studies

Paper Studies

Memberships

Awards

"Profile: Kandahar Profile". Navy Postgraduate School. January 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-01-31. </ref>

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yousef Pashtun.

• - Yousef Pashtun's biography on Embassy of Afghanistan's website
• - Yousef Pashtun's Interview in 2002
• [http://www.afghanembassyjp.com/en/interviews/?in=16, Yousef Pashtun's Interview in 2004]
• [books.google.com/books?isbn=1842773771]

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