Mohammad Fahim Dashty ( 1973 – 4 or 5 September 2021; ) was an Afghan journalist, politician and military official. In 2021, he served as spokesman of the

National Resistance Front of Afghanistan The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) is a military alliance of former Northern Alliance members and other anti-Taliban fighters loyal to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Its founder and leader is Ahmad Massoud, who mobilized t ...

during the

Republican insurgency in Afghanistan The republican insurgency in Afghanistan is an ongoing Low-intensity conflict, low-level Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war between the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, National Resistance Front and allied groups which fight under the ...

Biography

Born around 1973, Dashty was the nephew of Afghan politician,

Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah (Dari language, Dari, , ; born Abdullah; 5 September 1960) is an Afghan politician who led the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) from May 2020 until August 2021, when the Afghan government was Fall of Kabul (2021), ...

, and a close associate of the family of the

Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance ( ''Da Šumāl E'tilāf'' or ''Ettehād Šumāl''), officially known as the United National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( ''Jabha-ye Muttahid-e barāye Afğānistān''), was a military alliance of groups that op ...

leader,

Ahmad Shah Massoud Ahmad Shāh Massoud (2 September 19539 September 2001) was an Afghan militant leader and politician. He was a guerrilla commander during the resistance against the Soviet occupation during the Soviet–Afghan War from 1979 to 1989. In the 19 ...

. He was with Massoud when the latter was killed by a suicide bombing on 9 September 2001. Dashty was badly wounded in the bombing. After the

United States invasion of Afghanistan Shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001, the United States declared the war on terror and subsequently led a multinational military operation against Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The stated goal was to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had exe ...

, Dashty founded a newspaper based at

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

and became known for supporting journalists and advocating

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

in Afghanistan. He was a leader of the Afghanistan National Journalist Union (ANJU) as well as a key figure in the Federation for "Afghan Journalists and Media Entities", founded in 2012. In addition, he contributed to the South Asia Press Freedom Report. In 2021, following the takeover of Afghanistan by Taliban, Dashty joined the

as a spokesman. Beforehand, he had reportedly refused offers of a government post by the Taliban. Dashty was one of the main sources of information in the Panjshir Valley as the Taliban pressed in, issuing statements on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. Shortly before his death, he stated "If we die, history will write about us, as people who stood for their country till the end of the line". On 4 or 5 September 2021, Dashty was killed in combat during the Taliban offensive into Panjshir. His death was confirmed by his friend Noor Rahman Akhlaqi on

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as well as other sources. The Taliban claimed that he had died as they had advanced into Bazarak, capital of the Panjshir Province. In contrast, the

International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries. The IFJ is an associate ...

stated that he had died alongside General Abdul Wodo Zara at Dashtak, Anaba District. According to unspecified sources and defense analyst Babak Taghvaee, Dashty was killed by a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

drone strike during the fighting. NRF officials seconded these claims, specifying that Dashty had been killed by a Pakistani drone strike at Anaba. Pakistan and the Taliban denied this, with the latter eventually claiming that Dashy had been shot during a clash between NRF commanders. Reportedly BBC Persian, in an interview with Dashty, leaked a number leading to his location. After his death, former colleagues, associates, and organizations like the ANJU, Afghanistan Independent Journalists' Association (AIJA), and the

released eulogies in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dashty, M. F. 1970s births 2021 deaths Afghan Tajik people 21st-century Afghan politicians Politicians of Panjshir Province Military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Deaths by drone strikes People from Panjshir Province Tajik journalists