Hasham Watanwal (1952–2011) was a representative for

Uruzgan Province Uruzgan (Pashto: ; Dari: ), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot ...

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 ...

's national legislature, the

Wolesi Jirga The House of Representatives of the People, or Da Afghanistan Wolesi Jirga (), was the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, alongside the upper House of Elders. The House of Representatives of t ...

, until his assassination in a Taliban attack in Kabul on July 17, 2011. According to the Afghan Biographies profile, during the communist era he was Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. According to the profile, he is from the Tajik ethnic group, and graduated from

Kabul University Kabul University (KU; ) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd District of the capital Kabul near the Ministry of Higher Education. It was founded in 1931 by King Mohammed Nadir Shah, wh ...

with a science degree.

Post-Taliban political career

Watanwal was elected to the

in 2005 and 2010. In 2007, Watanwal hosted a press conference to draw attention to security concerns in Uruzgan. He asserted that "anti-government elements" controlled all of Gizab district and "vast swathes" of Char Chino, Dehrawod,

Chora Chora may refer to: Places Greece * Chora, old capital of the island of Alonnisos * Chora, village on the island of Folegandros * Chora, Ios, capital of the island of Ios * Chora, Messenia, a small town in Messenia in the Peloponnese * Chora, p ...

and Khas Uruzgan. Watanwal attributed the rise of militancy in Uruzgan to

ISAF The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...

's reckless disregard for civilian lives. In March 2011, Watanwal was selected to be the Deputy Chair of the Wolsi Jirga's Defence And Territorial Affairs Committee. In May 2011, he was one of the hosts for a delegation of visiting

Australian Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

arians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watanwal, Mohammed Hashim 2011 deaths Members of the House of the People (Afghanistan) Assassinated Afghan politicians People murdered in Afghanistan People killed by the Taliban 1952 births Asian politicians assassinated in the 2010s Politicians assassinated in 2011