Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal (born 1952) is an Afghan politician and the Head of Hezb-i Islami Afghanistan. He was once allied with Islamist warlord

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 ...

, but in 2008 he was elected chairman of a moderate breakaway faction of Hekmatyar's party. Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal earned a BA in economics, before working at the planning ministry in 1977 and then he went to USA. Back in Afghanistan, he fled from the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. He has served as

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

in 1996. Arghandiwaal has also served as advisor to President

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 ...

over tribal affairs. On January 16, 2010, he was appointed as Minister of Economy by gaining a vote of confidence from the

Afghan Parliament The Leadership Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, also translated as the Supreme Council, () (also referred to as the Inner Shura) is the central governing body of the Taliban and Afghanistan. The Taliban uses a consensus decision-maki ...

. He was again

from March 2020 to January 2021. In 2023, The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has nominated former Afghan Finance Minister Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Arghandiwal is accused of corruption and human rights abuses during his time in office. Arghandiwal was appointed finance minister in 2019 by then-President Ashraf Ghani. He was responsible for overseeing the Afghan government's finances and implementing its economic policies. However, he was also accused of corruption and mismanagement. In 2021, SIGAR released a report that found that Arghandiwal had used his position to enrich himself and his family. The report also found that he had used his position to benefit his political allies and to silence his critics. In addition to corruption, Arghandiwal is also accused of human rights abuses. In 2020, SIGAR released a report that found that Arghandiwal's security forces had used excessive force against protesters and had detained and tortured civilians. The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act is a law that allows the U.S. government to impose sanctions on individuals who are accused of human rights abuses and corruption. If the U.S. government imposes sanctions on Arghandiwal, it would freeze his assets in the United States and prohibit him from traveling to the United States. The nomination of Arghandiwal for sanctions is a significant development. It is the first time that SIGAR has nominated an Afghan official for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The nomination is a sign that SIGAR is serious about holding Afghan officials accountable for corruption and human rights abuses.

References

1952 births Living people Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin politicians Government ministers of Afghanistan Afghan expatriates in Pakistan Finance Ministers of Afghanistan Economy ministers of Afghanistan {{Afghanistan-politician-stub