Afghan Biographies

Dashti, Fahim


Name Dashti, Fahim
Ethnic backgr. Tajik
Date of birth 1973
Function/Grade Member of the Oversight Commission on Access to Information
History and Biodata

2. Previous Functions:
Kabul Weekly Editor in Chief (2002-20110530)
National Journalist Union Head (20121030)

Head of Afghanistan Policy Group (20180812)
Member of the Oversight Commission on Access to Information

3. Biodata:
dashti_fahimFahim Dashti Faheem Dashty was born in Panjshir Province in 1973. He graduated from Istiqlal High School, a French School in 1990. He enrolled Law and Political Science faculty of Kabul University in 1991.

Fighting in Afghanistan forced him to exile in Iran in 1989. Because of his close relations and respect to Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, Dashty constantly had to move about Central Asia and seek hide-outs in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, France, Pakistan and Iran.

His connections to the Northern Alliance are widely recognized, which makes him unpopular in some circles even though Dashti vows that he has no official relationship with Northern Alliance leaders such as Yunus Qanuni or Mohammad Qasim Fahim. However he does little to obscure his loyalties to the late Ahmad Shah Massoud, whom he reportedly made documentaries of which are now historical documents.· Fahim Dashti was with Ahmad Shah Massoud, the charismatic Tajik leader who commanded the Northern Alliance of minority groups, when he was fatally wounded by two terrorists posing as journalists two days before the Sept. 11 attacks. Dashti's face and hands were burned when one of the journalists blew himself up as the interview began. Dashti· was personally injured in the attack.Even now, Dashti's hands are not strong enough to twist the cap off a bottle of water. Allegedly Dashti has said, "“I feel myself committed to the ideas of commander Massoud. Of course, it’s very hard to convince people that I am independent, that this paper is independent.” Critics of Dashty assert that while he claims to be nonpartisan, his political views are often buried within his newspaper.

He opened Kabul Weekly in 2002 and was the first privately owned newspaper to be founded after the fall of the Taliban regime. Dashti touted the newspaper as one of the few independent media outlets in Afghanistan, but was forced to close down its operations in January 2011. In a post upon the newspaper's website, Dashti concedes that Kabul Weekly is a financially unfeasible endeavor, and admits that Kabul Weekly's adamance against accepting money from any special interest groups renders it financially unsustainable. Dashti believes that an independent media provides the foundation for democracy. Mohammad Fahim Dashti is now working as an veteran Afghan journalist and analyst.
 

Dashti has allegedly stated in interviews that President Hamid Karzai doesn't have the support of the people, which makes him ineffective in confronting the US or NATO. He is against negotiations between the government and the Taliban.
 

He has denounced the rising use of violence against journalists, stating "no journalist is safe in Afghanistan. Despite his experience, Dashti, who now directs the National Journalists' Union in Afghanistan, doesn't think his country is headed toward a civil war.
 

Mohammad Fahim-Dashti is the author of "The Assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud".

Fahim Dashti is the Head of the Afghanistan Policy Group which is linked to the German Friedrich-Ebert Foundation.(20180812)
 

Dashty is president of AINA Photo Agency and simultaneously he is Chief Executive of Afghanistan’s National Journalists union.

 

Faheem Dashty is married and has a son.
 

Dashti speaks Dari, Pashto, and English.

Last Modified 2018-12-31
Established 2012-10-30