Muhammad Suhail Shaheen (

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languag ...

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī ...

: , , ) is a

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pas ...

member who is currently the head of the Political Office in Doha. He edited the English-language, state-owned Afghan newspaper ''

The Kabul Times ''The Kabul Times Daily'' ( prs, روزنامه کابل تایمز; ) is a state-run English-language newspaper in Afghanistan, initially established on February 27, 1962 as ''The Kabul Times''. , it had a daily circulation of 47,000 and is offe ...

'' during the first

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001) The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ( ps, د افغانستان اسلامي امارت, '), also referred to as the First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, was an Islamic state established in September 1996, when the Taliban began their gove ...

, before being appointed to Afghanistan's Embassy in Pakistan as a deputy ambassador. The Taliban-led government appointed him as the

Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations ( ps, په ملګرو ملتونو کې د افغانستان د اسلامي جمهوريت دایمي استازی) is the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's foremost diplomatic re ...

in September 2021, but the UN rejected his appointment to the post.

Early life

Suhail was born in the

Paktia Province Paktia (Pashto/Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly 6 ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

. He was educated in Pakistan, and he is known to be a prolific writer and fluent speaker of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

in addition to his native Pashto. Suhail studied at the

International Islamic University Islamabad , motto_lang = Arabic , mottoeng = "All those endowed with knowledge have the All-Knowing above them" , established = , closed = , type = Public , affiliation = ...

and

Kabul University Kabul University (KU; prs, دانشگاه کابل, translit= Dāneshgāh-e-Kābul; ps, د کابل پوهنتون, translit=Da Kābul Pohantūn) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd ...

Career

During the period of the

's original Islamic Emirate (1996–2001), Shaheen served as Afghanistan's Deputy Ambassador at the Afghan Embassy in Pakistan. During the later phase of the Taliban's insurgency (2013–2021), he served as one of the Taliban's official spokesmen at their political office in Doha, where he gave many interviews to international media channels. On 20 September 2021, the Taliban-led government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan nominated him to become Afghanistan's official envoy to the United Nations. Shaheen however would be unable to take over the post unless the

United Nations Credentials Committee The United Nations Credentials Committee is a committee of the United Nations General Assembly whose main purpose is to report to the Assembly regarding the credentials of the body's representatives. Background Each year before the regular sessio ...

accepts Shaheen's appointment. The UN has rejected recognizing Shaheen as the official Afghan representative and instead recognizes Muhammad Wali Naeemi, the ambassador of the now-ousted government of the

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic that ruled Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan interim (2001–2002) and transitional (2002–2004) administrations, which were form ...

. In October 2021, Shaheen rejected American help in fighting the

Islamic State – Khorasan Province The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (; ISKP) is an affiliate of the Islamic State militant group active in South Asia and Central Asia. Some media sources also use the terms ISK (or IS–K), ISISK (or ISIS–K), IS–KP, Daesh–Khorasan or D ...

, saying, "We are able to tackle Daesh independently."

References

External links

*
Afghanistan: Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen calls the BBC – interview in full

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 15 August 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaheen, Suhail Living people Taliban leaders Taliban spokespersons People from Paktia Province Afghan expatriates in Pakistan Afghan politicians Afghan journalists Kabul University alumni International Islamic University, Islamabad alumni 21st-century Afghan writers Year of birth missing (living people)

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links