Muhammad Suhail Shaheen (

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

Dari Dari (; endonym: ), Dari Persian (, , or , ), or Eastern Persian is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language;Lazard, G.Darī – The New Persian ...

: , , ) is a

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) ...

member who is currently the head of the Afghan embassy in Qatar and the head of the Political Office in Doha. He edited the English-language, state-owned Afghan newspaper '' The Kabul Times'' during the first Taliban regime, 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 in September 2021, but the UN rejected his appointment to the post.

Early life

Suhail was born in the

Paktia Province Paktia (Pashto – ''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 623,00 ...

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 ...

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

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

in addition to his native Pashto. Suhail studied at the International Islamic University Islamabad and

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 ...

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 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 ...

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 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 in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan Afghan Interim Administration, interim (2001–2002) and Transitional Islamic State of Afghanist ...

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

Islamic State – Khorasan Province The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP or ISIS–K) is a regional branch of the Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist group Islamic State (IS) active in Central Asia, Central and South Asia, primarily Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uz ...

, saying, "We are able to tackle Daesh independently." In January 2025, he was appointed head of the Doha embassy after Mohammad Naeem Wardak was recalled to Kabul.

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