The Afghan Social Democratic Party ( ps, افغان ټولنپال ولسواکیز ګوند, ''Âfgan-e Tevâlnupal-e Vâlsuakâiz-e Gund''), more commonly known as the Afghan Mellat Party ( – ''Afğān Mellat Gund''; ''"Afghan Nation Party"'') or simply the Afghan Mellat, is a
Pashtun nationalist[Amin Saikal, ''"Modern Afghanistan: A History Of Struggle And Survival"'', p. 166] political party in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. The party's leadership describes it as
social democratic
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...
. The party's current leader is Stanagul Sherzad, who became the new leader after the 6th party congress on October 3, 2012.
History
Afghan Social Democratic Party was founded on March 8, 1966, by a group of influential bureaucrats associated with the ruling elites. However, it was officially declared on March 27 of that year.
Ghulam Mohammad Farhad
Ghulam Mohammad Farhad (1901–1984) was an Afghan engineer He lived in Germany on a royal scholarship from 1921 to 1928, training as an electrician at the Technical University of Munich. During his studies in Germany, he came in contact with Naz ...
, an Afghan intellectual served as the first President of the party. Afghan Mellat looks after the interests of the Pashtun ethnic group and has its support only from them.
Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad ( ps, ځلمی خلیل زاد, prs, زلمی خلیلزاد; born March 22, 1951) is an Afghan-American diplomat and foreign policy expert. Khalilzad was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to serve as U.S. Specia ...
, ''"The Security of Southwest Asia"'', University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, 2006, The party favors the ideas of ''
Pashtunization
Pashtunization ( ps, پښتون جوړونه), also called Pathanization, is a process of cultural or linguistic change in which someone or something non-Pashtun becomes acculturated to Pashtun influence. Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group ...
'' of Afghanistan and a ''Greater Afghanistan'' (i.e. it claims the Pashtun-speaking parts of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
for Afghanistan).
In the 1969 parliamentary elections, Farhad was elected to the parliament.
[Ruttig, Thomas (November 2006) "Islamists, Leftists – and a Void in the Center. Afghanistan's Political Parties and where they come from (1902–2006)"](_blank)
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
After the
Saur Revolution
The Saur Revolution or Sowr Revolution ( ps, د ثور انقلاب; prs, إنقلاب ثور), also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was staged on 27–28 April 1978 (, ) by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) ...
in 1978, the party was banned. Farhad was imprisoned, but released in 1980.
In exile in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, the party operated under the auspices of the
National Islamic Front of Afghanistan
National Islamic Front of Afghanistan (Mahaz-e Milli-ye Islami-ye Afghanistan, Mahaz-i Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan) is a political party in Afghanistan.
It has been led, since its founding, by members of a prominent Sufi family, the Gailan ...
.
In 1986–1987, dialogues took place between the government and the party and some leading party members were released from prison.
However, the party chose to stay outside of the governing coalition. The relations with the government split the party into three factions; with one faction led by
Shams-ul-Huda Shams, one by
Qudratullah Hadad Qudratullah ( ar, قدرت الله , link=no) is a male Muslim given name, meaning ''power of God''. It may refer to
Historical
*Moulvi Syed Qudratullah Sattar Munsef, or just Syed Qudratullah (1750-1839), judge and founder of Moulvibazar
*Qudr ...
and the other by Mohammad Amin Wakman. It is Wakman faction that is currently led by Afghanistan's Finance Minister,
Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady
Anwar ul-Haq Ahady (August 12, 1951) is a politician in Afghanistan, formerly serving as Afghan Minister of Commerce and Industry. He had served as the nation's Finance Minister from December 2004 to February 5, 2009. Prior to that he held the ...
, the son-in-law of the NIFA leader Pir Gailani.
Wakman branch
In 1995 Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady took over the Wakman branch. Under his leadership, the party toned down its Pashtun nationalist profile and sought support amongst non-Pashtuns. The Wakman branch of the party is recognized by the Afghan government as the "Afghan Millat Party"
After the fall of the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
government, the party leader Ahady has been included in the government as Finance Minister. The party supported
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
in the presidential election and receives support from Karzai. The party has around 10 MPs.
The party officially registered themselves in Afghanistan on May 16, 2004.
Shams branch
Shams-ul-Huda Shams applied for recognition of his party in 2004, but it was under
Ajmal Shams
Ajmal Shams is an Afghan politician and former civil engineer.
Shams has been president of the Afghan Social Democratic Party since October 2005. He served as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing in the Afghan Governm ...
, his son, that it achieved official recognition in May 2007 as "Afghan Mellat Milli Motaraqi Gwand – افغان ملت ملي مترقي ګوند" (Afghan National People's Progressive Party).
[National Afghanistan TV, Kabul, in Dari, 1430 GMT May 22, 2007, as reported by ''BBC Monitoring'' South Asia]
History of leaders
References
External links
Official web site of Afghan Millat (Ahady Faction)Official web site of Afghan Millat (Shams Faction)Official web site of Afghan Millat (UK Jerga)Official web site of Afghan Millat (kabul)
{{Authority control
Nationalist parties in Afghanistan
Political parties in Afghanistan
Political parties established in 1966
Nationalism in Afghanistan
1966 establishments in Afghanistan
Pashtun nationalism
Social democratic parties in Asia