The Afghan Social Democratic Party (, ''Âfgan-e Tewâlnupal-e Wâlsuakâiz-e Gund''), more commonly known as the Afghan Mellat Party ( – ''Afğān Mellat Gund''; ''"Afghan Nation Party"'') or simply the Afghan Mellat, is a

Pashtun nationalist Pashtun nationalism () is an ideology that claims that the Pashtuns form a distinct nation and that they should always be united to preserve their culture and homeland. In Afghanistan, those who advocate Pashtun nationalism favour the idea of a " G ...

Amin Saikal, ''"Modern Afghanistan: A History Of Struggle And Survival"'', p. 166 political party in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. The party's leadership describes it as

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

, although it has been historically described as 'ethno

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

' by observers.
/ref> The party's current leader is Stanagul Sherzad, who became the new leader after the 6th party congress on October 3, 2012.

History

Afghan Social Democratic Party was founded on March 8, 1966, by a group of influential bureaucrats associated with the ruling elites. However, it was officially declared on March 27 of that year.

Ghulam Mohammad Farhad Ghulam Mohammad Farhad (1901–1984) was an Afghanistan, Afghan engineer He lived in Germany on a royal scholarship from 1921 to 1928, training as an electrician at the Technical University of Munich. During his studies in Germany, he came in con ...

, a German educated Pashtun intellectual, served as the first President of the party. Farhad had studied in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and was fascinated by some aspects of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

. Afghan Mellat looks after the interests of the Pashtun ethnic group and has its support only from them.

Zalmay Khalilzad Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad (born March 22, 1951) is an American diplomat and foreign policy expert. Khalilzad was the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation from September 2018 to October 2021. Khailzad was appointed by Preside ...

''"The Security of Southwest Asia"''

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, 2006, The party favors the ideas of ''

Pashtunization Pashtunization (, ), is a process of cultural or linguistic change in which someone or something non-Pashtun becomes acculturated to Pashtun influence. Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and second-largest in Pakistan. Dynast ...

'' of Afghanistan and a ''Greater Afghanistan'' (i.e. it claims the Pashtun-speaking parts of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

for Afghanistan). This has led the Afghan Mellat to be referred to as 'ethno

' by observers however the party maintains that it is social democratic. In the 1969 parliamentary elections, Farhad was elected to the parliament.Ruttig, Thomas (November 2006) "Islamists, Leftists – and a Void in the Center. Afghanistan's Political Parties and where they come from (1902–2006)"
Konrad Adenauer Foundation After the

Saur Revolution The Saur Revolution (; ), also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was a violent coup d'état and uprising staged on 27–28 April 1978 (, ) by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), which overthrew President of Afghan ...

in 1978, the party was banned. Farhad was imprisoned, but released in 1980. In exile in

, the party operated under the auspices of the

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 Gail ...

. In 1986–1987, dialogues took place between the government and the party and some leading party members were released from prison. However, the party chose to stay outside of the governing coalition. The relations with the government split the party into three factions; with one faction led by

Shams-ul-Huda Shams Shams-ul-Huda Shams (; 1938 – 9 October 2005) was the president of the Afghan Millat Party (Afghan Social Democratic Party) from 1987 until his death on October 9, 2005. He was also a journalist, publishing articles in his party's newspaper cal ...

, one by Qudratullah Hadad and the other by Mohammad Amin Wakman. It is Wakman faction that is currently led by Afghanistan's Finance Minister,

Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady Anwar ul-Haq Ahady (August 12, 1951) is an Afghan politician and former Minister of Commerce and Industry. He had served as the nation's Finance Minister from December 2004 to February 5, 2009. From 2002 to 2004, he was the head of Da Afghanist ...

, the son-in-law of the NIFA leader Pir Gailani.

Wakman branch

In 1995 Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady took over the Wakman branch. Under his leadership, the party toned down its Pashtun nationalist profile and sought support amongst non-Pashtuns. The Wakman branch of the party is recognized by the Afghan government as the "Afghan Millat Party" After the fall of the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

government, the party leader Ahady has been included in the government as Finance Minister. The party supported

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, including as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He previously served a ...

in the presidential election and receives support from Karzai. The party has around 10 MPs. The party officially registered themselves in Afghanistan on May 16, 2004.

Shams branch

Shams-ul-Huda Shams applied for recognition of his party in 2004, but it was under

Ajmal Shams Ajmal Shams is an Afghan politician and former civil engineer. Shams has been president of the Afghan Social Democratic Party since October 2005. He served as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing in the Afghan Governm ...

, his son, that it achieved official recognition in May 2007 as "Afghan Mellat Milli Motaraqi Gwand – افغان ملت ملي مترقي ګوند" (Afghan National People's Progressive Party).National Afghanistan TV, Kabul, in Dari, 1430 GMT May 22, 2007, as reported by ''BBC Monitoring'' South Asia

History of leaders

References

External links

Official web site of Afghan Millat (Ahady Faction)

Official web site of Afghan Millat (Shams Faction)

Official web site of Afghan Millat (UK Jerga)

Official web site of Afghan Millat (kabul)
{{Authority control Nationalist parties in Afghanistan Political parties in Afghanistan Political parties established in 1966 1966 establishments in Afghanistan Pashtun nationalism Nationalist parties in Asia