Afghan Biographies

Zahine, Shahir


Name Zahine, Shahir
Ethnic backgr. Pashtun
Date of birth
Function/Grade Director Kilid DSH and TKG
History and Biodata

2. Previous Functions:
Director General of Development of Humanitarian Services for Afghanistan (DHSA) and TKG (2011)

3. Biodata:
zahine_shahirShahir Zahine was the son of a dignitary of mujaheddin and grew up in Kabul up to the age of 18. He left Kabul in March 1984, a month after the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviets. He went to France and in 1986 he left definitely France and stopped his studies in medical college. He joined mujaheddin in Afghanistan.When in February '89 the Soviets were leaving Afghanistan Zahine joined a French NGO and worked from Pakistan cross-border for a rural rehabilitation program in Afghanistan. In '92 when the mujaheddin took over in Kabul from the Communist regime, with a group of friends he established the Afghan NGO DHSA (Development Humanitarian Services for Afghanistan) that is in fact the body that established the Killid Group.

He stayed in Kabul all the years of internal fighting in the '90s - was in Kabul under the Taliban - and when the regime of Karzai happened and the Taliban fell with the first Interim Authority it was decided to shift the focus from rural rehabilitation and emergency programs to education and media. Because the thinking was that all these years of doing emergency and rehabilitation in rural areas the real needs have not really been reached .

The real needs are in the heads of Afghans and Afghans were in need of awareness - awareness was where people were missing a lot. And the spread of knowledge and education and awareness pushed all of us to focus on media.

Sahir Zahin was among German and Afghan journalists' organisations which have called for delegates of the 2nd Bonn Conference, scheduled for Dec. 5, to pay proper heed to the development ofAfghanistan's nascent media sector.(20111202)

Zahine speaks Dari, French and English.

Last Modified 2011-12-18
Established 2011-05-01