Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam

Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam
Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam 2011
Born	1981 Laghman Province, Afghanistan
Citizenship	Afghan
Organization	Afghan Anti-Corruption Network
Known for	Political activism
Website	www.aacn.af

Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam (Pashto: ډاکټر محمد شفیق همدم) is a writer and a political activist in Afghanistan.^[1][2] He is the Chairman of the Afghan Anti-Corruption Network (AACN).^[3]

Early life and education

Hamdam was born in January 1981 in the Alishing village, which is located in Laghman Province of Afghanistan. In 1986 he enrolled in Lam-e-Shahid High School in Kabul. In 1999 he graduated from Shahid Muhammad Arif High School in Jalalabad, and in the same year he enrolled in Political Science Faculty of Nangarhar University. In 2002 he earned his Bachelor of Health Sciences from Nangarhar Institute of Health Sciences. In 2003 he was rewarded Advance Diploma in Administration and Economics from The Swiss College of Administration and Economy. In 2010 he graduated from George C Marshall Center,^[4][5] European Center for Security Studies in Germany, where he studied advance security and international relations. He is a graduate of Executive Programme John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Indian School of Business Management & Administration. He is fluent in several languages, including Dari, Pashto and English.

Career history

Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam and Gen. David Petraeus former Director of Central Intelligence Agency of the U.S and former ISAF Commander 2011.

Hamdam closely worked with and advised senior NATO, U.S.and international policymakers^[6] on political and development affairs of Afghanistan, South and Center Asia. He serves as the Chairman^[7] of Afghan Anti-Corruption Network (AACN), the largest and leading network of civil society organizations fighting against corruption.^[8] He worked as subject matter expert for the University of Maryland, senior research fellow at Civil Vision International.^[9] From 2008 to 2014 he worked as senior media, political and public diplomacy advisor to

Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam During Second International Bonn Conference on Afghanistan

the NATO senior civilian representative in Afghanistan^[10] He is a Member of Board of Directors, Modern Organization for Development of Education (MODE), executive board chairman of Anti-Corruption Watch Organization.^[11] He is also the founder of Youth For Peace, Afghan Youth Against Corruption, Anti-Corruption Watch Organization, Kabul Tribune, an online newspaper and co-founder of the Afghan Women Coalition Against Corruption. Hamdam is a member of Afghan Young Leaders Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Program Associate of Hiroshima Peace Builders Center, a member of the United Nation Coalition Against Corruption (UNCAC), a member of Voice Against Corruption, a member of the Afghan Civil Society for Advocacy. In 2009 presidential and provincial elections of Afghanistan he worked for Moby Media, Tolo TV as a presenter of political round-table during 2009 presidential elections. From 2007 to 2008 he worked with the US Department of Defence as Media Coordinator and Spokesman^[12][13] for the US Forces in Eastern Afghanistan, prior to this he worked for four years as Culture Advisor and Linguist for the US forces in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom). In the years 2003 and 2004 Hamdam worked as a Project Manager for the Demobilization Disarmament and Reintegration project of the United Nations in Kabul. Between 2003 and 2004 he worked as a Senior Radiographer and Radiologist Technologist at a private clinic in Jalalabad city of Afghanistan. Between 2001 and 2003 he was freelancer interpreter and prior to that from 1998 to 2001 he worked as a Project Assistant with the Health Net International TPO and World Health Organization in Jalalabad city in eastern Afghanistan. The Asia Society recognized him as a 21 Young Asia Leaders.^[14]

Fighting corruption

2013 Afghanistan Countrywide Race Against Corruption organized by Afghan Anti-Corruption Network, where thousands of Afghan youth toke part to pressure the government for reform.

Hamdam said that corruption is the biggest problem, which feeds insecurity in Afghanistan as well as the insurgency,^[15] poppy cultivation, drug processing and drug trafficking. He formed the biggest ever group of volunteer social activists from across Afghanistan

Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam with Afghan business and government officials in Morocco for Internationale Anti-Corruption conference

to fight corruption, the most dangerous and toughest job in one of the most corrupt and unstable country in the world. Through peaceful demonstration and protests such a 5 km countrywide race against corruption, he mobilized thousands of citizens to pressure the government for reform, through 5 km race against corruption. He has also mobilized youth, students and women to take part in the fight against corruption. He is an outspoken activist, who has disclosed cases of senior corrupt official and he has advocated for the trail and persecution^[16] of cabinet members and senior politicians. Hamdam exposed land garbing, corruption of senior government officials and cabinet members. He has advocated for election transparency and reform.^[17] He also played a key role in exposing Kabul Bank corruption, where near on billion USD was looted in corruption and resulted in the collapse of the bank.

Hamdam was a critic of Karzai government for not taking firm steps to fight corruptions. In his interview with the CBS TV he said that corruption starts from the street and goes to the palace and he called Karzai's government the most corrupt government ever. He has repeatedly called and pressured Afghan government for fighting corruption and he looks at corruption as a major problem for the country.

Afghanistan's affairs

Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam at the Security & Defence Agenda Conference in Brussels 2013

Hamdam is closely following Afghanistan and regional countries developments. Following Afghanistan’s affairs as an observer, He has attended International Conference on Afghanistan, The Hague 2009 in Netherlands, NATO 60 Summit in Strasburg and Kehl, France in 2009, Kabul International conference in 2010, NATO Summit in Lisbon Portugal in 2010, 2nd International Bonn Conference about Afghanistan, the NATO Chicago Summit in 2011 and tens of other national and international conferences on Afghanistan. As an observer he observed Afghanistan presidential elections in 2004 and 2009, Afghan parliamentary and provincial elections in 2005 and Traditional Loya Jirga on the Afghanistan and the U.S. Strategic Partnership Agreement.^[18]

Advocating for a closer relationship with the western allies, Hamdam played a key role in signing the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) between Afghanistan and US. Among other Afghan leaders and activists, he also signed the letter to president Obama advocating for the BSA and the letter said: We strongly echo the endorsement of the Bilateral Security Agreement last month at the Loya Jirga and reiterate that the agreement should be signed without delay. Our voice reflects a growing chorus from all segments of the Afghan society, including our religious and business community leaders, who remain concerned about the future of our country and wish to see the expeditious finalization of the BSA.

Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam during the distribution of humanitarian assistance to the needy family of internally displaced people in Afghanistan.

Representing Afghanistan in the European parliament, he advocates for accountability, transparency and fighting corruption. He urged leaderships of European Union, European Parliament and European Commission to support Afghans in the fight against corruption. He wrote in one of his articles to EU leaders: Afghanistan alone cannot reach its goal of reducing corruption; it requires the support of the international community. Without delay, serious actions should be taken to eliminate the problem. These actions should include empowering civil society organizations and the media to play a bigger role in the fight against corruption. If Afghanistan is to qualify for aid over the coming years, seriousness, strong commitment, political determination, and practical decisions will be needed in order to implement the laws and strategies required to overcome the problem of corruption in Afghanistan.

Hamdam was often criticized for his pro-western opinions by some Afghan politicians and through some anti-western figures. He is seen as a pro-west. As a Senior NATO Public Diplomacy Adviser, he has often defended NATO policies and by extremist he is seen as a NATO-backed activist. Hamdam has defended in many occasions NATO's position and he has advocated for Afghanistan to become a NATO member. He was widely criticized by Muslim extremists and regional actors for his article, where he clearly stated that Afghanistan should be a NATO member. After completion of ISAF mission, he advised in one of his articles that "Afghan government and NATO should be able to enter a new, comprehensive, closer, stronger and mutual relationship. It should be based on mutual commitment and long-term cooperation with full respect to the sovereignty of Afghanistan. The relation which can possibly make Afghanistan a NATO member country in the future." While some analyst called the ISAF mission as a failure, but Hamdam called that a historic and major success.

As a writer

Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam among Asia 21 Yong Leaders

Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam with US Senator Lindsey Graham

He writes for The Huffington Post^[19] and many leading Afghan papers and journals on political, security and foreign affairs. Talking about the corruption related issues and Afghanistan’s affairs he has been appearing in numbers of national and International media outlets, such as Tolo TV, Ariana TV, RFE/RL, BBC, CBS, AFP, ARD, VOA, TRT TV, Aljazeera TV, The Washington Post and other key national and international media outlets.

He is optimistic about Afghanistan. After the end of one decade ISAF mission in Afghanistan, he wrote on the Open Think Thank on Foreign Policy that Afghanistan of 2001 is not comparable with the Afghanistan of 2015. With 352,000 strong Afghan National Security Forces, backed by the US and NATO, an increasingly vibrant civil society sector, and a large youth population, Afghans are hopeful that their country will never return to the dark era. For this to remain effective, Afghanistan and its partners must continue to broaden those achievements over the next decade, ushering in a new era of transformation.

Hamdam looks at democracy as a new phenomenon in Afghanistan and emphasizes on reform and fighting corruption. He wrote in Unipath is a professional military magazine published quarterly by the Commander of the United States Central Command as an international forum for military personnel in the Middle East and Central Asia region: Governments and institutions work differently in democratic societies. So it’s not only fighting terrorism and extremists, but good governance that is a key priority for Afghanistan. Weak rule of law and the existence of “impunity circles” and safe havens for corrupt individuals and officials in Afghanistan and abroad have contributed to violations of human rights and injustice.

He believes that the Afghan and US government were not able to define their relationship during more than a decade. Hamdam wrote in his opinion editorial, A Decade of Relations Without Definition, that the Afghan-U.S. relationship should not be only based on dying and killing for each other, but it should be based on social, economic and political interests as well. Numerous opportunities already exist to build that long-term and stable relationship. At the moment, some Afghans see the presence of the U.S. in Afghanistan as a world policing and a force against Al-Qaeda and Taliban. What if there are no more Taliban and war in Afghanistan? How will the U.S. and Afghan government justify their relations? Should this relationship remain merely a donor-recipient exchange, a relationship only to finance, train and advise Afghan National Security Forces? These questions are urgent. The two countries must, through inclusive dialogue, define their relationship and must reach for a vision beyond a militarized association.

Awards

Farzana Marie, President of Civil Vision International Rewarding Certificate of Nobel Peace Prize Nominee to Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam 2011.

• 2013 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee
• 2012 Letter of Appreciation from Speaker of The Senate
• Letters of Appreciation From NATO Leaderships
• U.S. Army Coins of Excellence
• U.S. Marine Coins of Excellence
• NATO SCR Coins of Excellence
• Youth Ambassador 2013
• Hamdam was profiled by The Open think Foreign Policy in 2015.

References