Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
/
Dari
Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī ...
: , , ) is a
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 ...
member who is currently the head of the Political Office in Doha. He edited the English-language, state-owned Afghan newspaper '' The Kabul Times'' during the first
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ( ps, د افغانستان اسلامي امارت, '), also referred to as the First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, was an Islamic state established in September 1996, when the Taliban began their gove ...
Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations
The Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations ( ps, په ملګرو ملتونو کې د افغانستان د اسلامي جمهوريت دایمي استازی) is the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's foremost diplomatic rep ...
in September 2021, but the UN rejected his appointment to the post.
Early life
Suhail was born in the
Paktia Province
Paktia (Pashto/Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly 6 ...
of
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 ...
. He was educated in Pakistan, and he is known to be a prolific writer and fluent speaker of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
International Islamic University Islamabad
, motto_lang = Arabic
, mottoeng = "All those endowed with knowledge have the All-Knowing above them"
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public
, affiliation = ...
and
Kabul University
Kabul University (KU; prs, دانشگاه کابل, translit= Dāneshgāh-e-Kābul; ps, د کابل پوهنتون, translit=Da Kābul Pohantūn) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd ...
.
Career
During the period 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 ...
's original Islamic Emirate (1996–2001), Shaheen served as Afghanistan's Deputy Ambassador at the Afghan Embassy in Pakistan. During the later phase of the Taliban's insurgency (2013–2021), he served as one of the Taliban's official spokesmen at their political office in Doha, where he gave many interviews to international media channels.
On 20 September 2021, the Taliban-led government of the
Islamic Emirate of 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 ...
nominated him to become Afghanistan's official envoy to the United Nations. Shaheen however would be unable to take over the post unless the
United Nations Credentials Committee The United Nations Credentials Committee is a committee of the United Nations General Assembly whose main purpose is to report to the Assembly regarding the credentials of the body's representatives.
Background
Each year before the regular sessio ...
accepts Shaheen's appointment. The UN has rejected recognizing Shaheen as the official Afghan representative and instead recognizes Muhammad Wali Naeemi, the ambassador of the now-ousted government of the
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic that ruled Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan interim (2001–2002) and transitional (2002–2004) administrations, which were formed ...
.
In October 2021, Shaheen rejected American help in fighting the
Islamic State – Khorasan Province
The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (; ISKP) is an affiliate of the Islamic State militant group active in South Asia and Central Asia. Some media sources also use the terms ISK (or IS–K), ISISK (or ISIS–K), IS–KP, Daesh–Khorasan or D ...
, saying, "We are able to tackle Daesh independently."
See also
*
Naeem Wardak
Mohammad Naeem Wardak (ډاکټر محمد نعیم وردک) (born 1985) is the head of the Afghan Embassy in Qatar since 2021 and a spokesman of the Taliban's Political Office since 2020. He also previously served the same office from 2013 to ...
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...