Nur ul-Haq Ulumi
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Nur ul-Haq Ulumi (born 15 August 1941) is an
Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
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 ...
, who served as Interior Minister from 2015 to 2016, and as a Member of the House of the People from 2005 to 2010 representing
Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
. He founded and previously led the
National United Party of Afghanistan The National United Party of Afghanistan ( prs, حزب متحد ملی افغانستان, ) is a political party in Afghanistan. History The party was formed on 21 August 2003 by a group of former People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDP ...
, a small left-wing and secular party in Afghanistan that is a member of the
National Coalition of Afghanistan The National Coalition of Afghanistan ( fa, ائتلاف ملی, Etelaf-e Milli; previously known as the Coalition for Change and Hope), is a political coalition in Afghanistan led by Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan's former foreign minister (2001 ...
. Ulumi previously served in the
Afghan Army The Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be t ...
as a member of the
Parcham Parcham (Pashto and prs, پرچم, ) was the name of one of the factions of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, formed in 1967 following its split and led for most of its history by Babrak Karmal and Mohammed Najibullah. The basic id ...
faction of the
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), ''Hezb-e dimūkrātĩk-e khalq-e Afghānistān'' was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 Afgha ...
during the Afghan Civil War (1989–1992), and left service with the rank of lieutenant general. He was a candidate in the
2019 Afghan presidential election Presidential elections were held in Afghanistan on 28 September 2019. According to preliminary results, which runner-up Abdullah Abdullah appealed against, incumbent Ashraf Ghani was re-elected with 923,592 votes, 50.64% of the vote. After delay ...
.


Early life

Ulumi was born on 15 August 1941 in Kandahar Province. His family were an important
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 from the
Barakzai Bārakzai ( ps, بارکزی, ''Bārakzay;'' plur. ps, بارکزي, ''Bārakzī'') is the name of a Pashtun tribe from present-day, Kandahar, Afghanistan. '"Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtuns and it means "son of Barak" in Pashto. A ...
Tribe.


Military career

Ulumi graduated from the University of Kabul
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...
in 1966.http://mehrwatan.com/?page_id=115 Ulumi was trained in both the United States and the Soviet Union.Afghan Biographies - Olumi, Noorulhaq Noor ul Haq Olomi Ulumi


Afghan Civil War

Ulumi saw action at the Battle of Jalalabad, where he played an important role in defeating the mujahideen offensive. Following his success at Jalalabad he was given a new position as Governor of Kandahar. This is according to Peter Tomsen, but Tomsen is characteristically inaccurate. Ulumi was promoted to Kandahar governor in 1988 (see Mark Urban's "War in Afghanistan", written - unlike Tomsen's book - without political retrospective) and was still in Kandahar during the 1989 Jalalabad battle. The Jalalabad battle was actually led by Manokai Mangal and Asif Dilawar; Ulumi played no part though another Parchami interior minister, Hanif Atmar, was involved as an officer.


Governor of Kandahar

In his new role as governor, Ulumi enacted a number of major changes to regional government policy in order to help implement the Afghan Government's
National Reconciliation National Reconciliation is the term used for establishment of so-called 'national unity' in countries beset with political problems. In Afghanistan the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan government under Babrak Karmal issued a ten-point rec ...
. Firstly, he persuaded President Najibullah to withdraw
Abdul Rashid Dostum Abdul Rashid Dostum ( ; prs, عبدالرشید دوستم; Uzbek Latin: , Uzbek Cyrillic: , ; born 25 March 1954) is an Afghan exiled politician, former Marshal in the Afghan National Army, founder and leader of the political party Junbish- ...
's hated Jouzjani militia from Kandahar, he stopped forced conscription into the Army, he encouraged local unemployed youth to join his local paid militia to help defend Kandahar, he complied with prisoner release requests from moderate mujihadeen commanders, and he didn't interfere with the mujihadeen-run narcotics smuggling trade. Ulumi co-opted local mujahideen forces by providing them with incentives, such as money or permission to visit their families within Kandahar, in exchange for the mujahideen scaling down attacks on local government forces. In the case of Ahmed Gailani, Ulumi was related to the wife of
Ahmed Gailani Pir (Sufism), Pir Sayyid Ahmed Gailani ( fa, پیر سید احمد گیلانی 1932– 21 January 2017), was the leader (Pir) of the Qadiriyyah Sufi order in Afghanistan, and the founder of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan (''Mahaz-i-M ...
, due to her being a member of the
Mohammadzai Mohammadzai ( ps, محمدزی), also spelled Moḥammadzay (meaning "descendants of Mohammad"), is a Pashtun sub-tribe or clan of the Barakzai which is part of the Durrani confederacy of tribes. They are primarily centered on Kandahar, Kabul a ...
clan. As such he was able to reach out to and ease relations with Gailani's
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 ...
, inviting Gailani's son Hasan to Kandahar for negotiations. Ulumi was also able to reach out to
Gul Agha Sherzai Gul Agha Sherzai (), also known as Mohammad Shafiq, is a politician in Afghanistan. He is the former governor of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. He previously served as Governor of Kandahar province, in the early 1990s and from 2001 ...
by emphasising their common
Barakzai Bārakzai ( ps, بارکزی, ''Bārakzay;'' plur. ps, بارکزي, ''Bārakzī'') is the name of a Pashtun tribe from present-day, Kandahar, Afghanistan. '"Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtuns and it means "son of Barak" in Pashto. A ...
heritage as well as by offering financial incentives. Under a jointly agreed plan, Gul Agha would launch attacks on
Kandahar Airport Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, also referred to as Kandahar International Airport ( ps, د کندهار نړيوال هوايي ډګر) and by some military officials as Kandahar Airfield, KAF) , is located about south-east of the city Ka ...
that had been pre-planned with Ulumi. Gul Agha's forces would fire off rockets and weapons at the airport, whilst forces under Ulumi would light fires and make loud noises. ISI forces observing the operation would then believe Gul Agha to be fighting the government, and would then supply him with weapons and food, which Ulumi allowed Gul Agha to sell within Kandahar. This made coordination of attacks between various mujahideen groups increasing difficult, although some groups such as
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 ...
refused any compromise with the Afghan government. Their refusal to compromise was in turn rewarded by funding from Pakistan, who made several failed attempts to unite the mujihadeen. During the Civil War, Ulumi also commanded the Afghan Army's Kandahar Corps.


End of the conflict

Ulumi, as commander of Afghan government forces in Kabul, surrendered Kabul in April 1992 to advancing mujahideen forces. After the conflict had ended Ulumi moved to the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, where lived in
Landgraaf Landgraaf (; li, Lankgraaf ) is a municipality in southeastern Limburg, Netherlands, forming part of the Parkstad Limburg agglomeration. ''Snow World'' is the largest indoor ski piste in Europe. Population centres *Nieuwenhagen *Schaesberg *Ub ...
. He returned to Afghanistan after the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.


Political career

Ulumi was elected as an MP for Kandahar Province in 2005, with 13,035 out of a total of 178,269 votes. The only candidate to receive a higher number of votes was
Qayum Karzai Abdul Qayum Karzai or Qayyum Karzai (born 1947) is businessman and politician in Afghanistan. He is the elder brother of former President Hamid Karzai. His brothers also include the controversial Mahmoud Karzai and the assassinated Ahmed Wali Kar ...
, the elder brother of 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 ...
, who received 14,243 votes. In 2010 Ulumi failed to be re-elected, failing to receive even 3,000 out of a total of 85,385 votes. There were also accusations of electoral fraud and vote rigging. During his term as an MP Ulumi chaired the Afghan Parliament's Defence Committee. He was nominated to be Minister of Interior by
Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah (Dari/ ps, عبدالله عبدالله, ; born as Abdullah on 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 wa ...
in the unity government of
Ashraf Ghani Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban. Born in L ...
in January 2015. He had supported
Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah (Dari/ ps, عبدالله عبدالله, ; born as Abdullah on 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 wa ...
in the
2014 Afghan presidential election Presidential elections were held in Afghanistan on 5 April 2014, with a second round held on 14 June. Incumbent President Hamid Karzai was not eligible to run due to term limits. The registration period for presidential nominations was open from ...
. However, a ban was imposed by the Parliament on cabinet minister appointments with dual citizenship. After giving up his dual citizenship Ulumi was nominated again. He was confirmed as Interior Minister on 27 January 2015. He left the post in February 2016, reportedly resigning due to differences with other officials, assuming the role of Ambassador to the Netherlands. He unsuccessfully ran as a candidate in the 2019 Afghan presidential election as leader of the newly formed Afghanistan People's National Front (Jabha-e-Milli Mardum-e-Afghanistan). He repeatedly raised concerns about vote-rigging. He has since been appointed Special Representative for Good Governance.


Political views

Ulumi maintains that the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan was only done at Afghanistan's behest, and that Soviet actions in the conflict were done in support of the Afghan government, who retained operational command. Ulumi also argues that during the rule of the PDPA, Afghans could approach the government and seek redress for issues free from corruption or tribalism. Ulumi has blamed the rise in Taliban activity in southern Afghanistan on the failure of the Afghan government to build a fair government, free from corruption.


Personal life

Ulumi's elder brother was a powerful general in President Najibullah's government and was assassinated by the mujaheddin. Ulumi speaks English and Russian fluently. Ulumi has two daughters and a son, all of whom live in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulumi, Nur ul-Haq 1941 births Afghan politicians Afghan secularists Afghan socialists Governors of Kandahar Province Living people Pashtun people People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan politicians Members of the House of the People (Afghanistan) People of the Afghanistan conflict (1978–present) Afghan military officers