Hajji Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since it ...

Din Mohammad also known as Azizullah Din Mohammad is a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

in Afghanistan who served as the Governor of Nangarhar Province followed by Governor of Kabul Province. He is currently the Chairman of Peace and Development Islamic Party. He has been involved in the peace and reconciliation process between the Afghan Government and the Taliban and is currently the deputy of High Council for National Reconciliation. Haji Din Mohammad comes from a distinguished

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

family "Arsala" The Arsala family is part of the Jabar Khel (a subtribe of the land-owning Ahmadzai tribe). He is also the elder brother of late Hajji Abdul Qadir and

Abdul Haq ʻAbd al-Ḥaqq (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الحقّ) is an Arabic male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Ḥaqq'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to the ...

His great-grandfather, Wazir Arsala Khan, served as Foreign Minister of Afghanistan in 1869. One of Arsala Khan's descendants, Taj Mohammad Khan, was a general at the

Battle of Maiwand The Battle of Maiwand (Dari: نبرد میوند, Pashto: د ميوند جگړه), fought on 27 July 1880, was one of the principal battles of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Under the leadership of Ayub Khan, the Afghan forces defeated a much smal ...

. Another descendant,

Abdul Jabbar Khan Justice Abdul Jabbar Khan (30 June 1902 – 23 April 1984) was the 6th Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan. He was preceded by Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry. Early life He was born on 1 January 1902 in Baher char, Barisal. He graduated fr ...

, was Afghanistan’s first Ambassador to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Early life and family background

Din Mohammad was born in Nangarhar, Afghanistan. His father,

Amanullah khan Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, ...

, served as a district administer in various parts of the country. Two of his uncles, Mohammad Rafiq Khan and

Haji Zaman Khan Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since ...

, were members of the 7th session of the Afghan Parliament which worked to expand the rights of ordinary citizens under the monarchy. Din Mohammad's brothers

and Hajji Abdul Qadir were

Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...

commanders who fought against the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

during the 1980s

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

. Din Mohammad served as the deputy of the

Hezbi Islami Hezb-e-Islami (also ''Hezb-e Islami'', ''Hezb-i-Islami'', ''Hezbi-Islami'', ''Hezbi Islami''), lit. Islamic Party, was an Islamist organization that was commonly known for fighting the Communist Government of Afghanistan and their close ally ...

Party of

Mohammad Yunus Khalis Mawlawi Mohammad Yunus Khalis (alternate spellings Yunis and Younas) ( ps, محمد يونس خالص; c. 1919 – 19 July 2006) was a mujahideen commander in Afghanistan during the Soviet–Afghan War. His party was called Hezb-i-Islami ("Isla ...

. Not Hizb Islami of

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ( ps, ګلب الدين حكمتيار; born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so calle ...

. He served as the Minister of National Security in Afghanistan's Interim Government in Exile during the 1990s and as Minister of Education in the Mujahideen Government which was established after the collapse of the Communist government. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister in the same period, but resigned when infighting erupted among the rival factions of Ahmad Shah Massoud and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

Governor

During the Taliban era, Din Mohammad lived in exile and later helped Abdul Haq in his efforts to establish a broad-based post-Taliban government. In 2001, Abdul Haq was captured and executed by the Taliban while pursuing efforts to promote the formation of a broad-based representative government.Interview: Nangarhar Province Governor On Elections, Drugs, And Security . - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
/ref> Din Mohammad's son Ezatullah Sahil was captured and killed by the Taliban along with Abdul Haq in 2001. Abdul Qadir served as the Governor of Nangarhar Province after the Soviet Occupation and was credited with maintaining peace in the province during the years of civil conflict that followed the Soviet withdrawal. Abdul Qadir served as a Vice President in the newly formed post-Taliban government of

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 ...

, but was assassinated by unknown assailants in July 2002. In the same month of 2002, Din Mohammad was selected as the Governor of Nangarhar Province. in August 2005, he became the Governor of

Kabul Province Kabul (Persian: ), situated in the east of the country, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The capital of the province is Kabul city, which is also Afghanistan's capital and largest city. The population of the Kabul Province is ...

until August 2009. Din Mohammad and his brother Hajji Nasrullah Baryalai Arsalai remain committed to the principles of inclusive government and reconciliation among competing factions in Afghanistan, and have been active in promoting the economic development and reconstruction of Afghan society after decades of chaos and violence.

References

External links

Hajji Din Mohammad Biography

{{AfghanGov Living people Education ministers of Afghanistan Interior ministers of Afghanistan Pashtun people Arsala family Mohammad, Haji Din Governors of Kabul Province Governors of Nangarhar Province 1953 births