Matiullah Turab (; 21 March 1971 – 14 July 2025) was an Afghan poet. His poetry has been popular among Pashtuns from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Early life

Turab was born on 21 March 1971 in

Khogyani District Khogyani (, ) is a Districts of Afghanistan, district in the south of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, bordering Pakistan. Its population is entirely Pashtun people, Pashtun, and was estimated at 146,852 in 2002. The district is within the heartl ...

, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. He grew up in

Nangarhar Province Nangarhār (Pashto: ; Dari: ), also called Nangrahar or Ningrahar, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country and Border, bordering Logar Province, Logar, Kabul Province, Kabul, Laghman Province, Laghm ...

, and spent most of his life in Khost province, and his ancestral roots remained tied to Khogyani. Despite not having a formal education, he became a prominent Pashto poet, with his work spread via live recitals, viral YouTube clips, and social gatherings. He worked as a car body maker. He fled from the Soviet war like many other families to

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# ...

and lived in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

, Kurram Agency for a while and then returned to his home country

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 ...

in the 2000s. He was recognized and invited to

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 ...

by then President

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 ...

, despite his critical stance even toward Karzai’s government. In an interview with the

BBC Urdu BBC Urdu () is a digital television station covering the Indian subcontinent in the Urdu language. It was the Urdu language station of the BBC World Service, accompanied by its website, which served as a news portal and provided online access to ...

in February 2017, Turab said that; "he does not want to criticize anyone. But in his opinion, romance and romantic poetry have no meaning in times of war and conflict. A novel is written when there is peace. When there is no worry about bread, clothes and housing, when there is no war and conflict. In my opinion, poetry is that in which the feelings of a helpless and forced person find a voice."

Death

Turab died from a heart attack at a hospital in

Khost Khōst () is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is the largest city in the southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia. To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram Agency, Kurram i ...

, on 14 July 2025, at the age of 54. His funeral took place on Tuesday, 15 July 2025, in Nangarhar province, attended by tribal elders, literature enthusiasts, local officials, and citizens with widespread mourning across Afghanistan and

. Others were held in

and in Sherzai Stadium,

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Help:IPA/Persian, ͡ʒä.lɑː.lɑː.bɑːd̪ is the list of cities in Afghanistan, fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 200,331, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part ...

at 2 p.m., followed by a village burial in Kozbiar, Khogyani,

Nangarhar Nangarhār (Pashto: ; Dari: ), also called Nangrahar or Ningrahar, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country and bordering Logar, Kabul, Laghman and Kunar provinces as well as having an internatio ...

at 4 p.m. His body was airlifted by helicopter on the same day. His passing prompted tributes from the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture, IEA spokesperson

Zabihullah Mujahid Zabihullah Mujahid (; ''Ẕabīḥullāh Mujāhid'' ; also spelled Dhabih Allah Mujahid) is an Afghan spokesperson who has been the chief spokesman for the internationally unrecognized Taliban regime of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 25 Oc ...

, former President

Anas Haqqani Anas Haqqani ( ; born ) is a leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban movement and was also a member of the Taliban's negotiation team in its political office in Doha, Qatar. He is the son of fighter warlord Jalaluddin Haqqan ...

, and others.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turab, Matiullah 1971 births 2025 deaths 20th-century Afghan poets Pashto-language poets 21st-century Afghan poets People from Nangarhar Province