Afghan Biographies

Obaidullah Baheer


Name Obaidullah Baheer
Ethnic backgr. Pashtun
Date of birth 1990
Function/Grade Journalist
History and Biodata

2. Previous Function:

National Development State Owned Corporation (2020 - 2021)
Lecturer Kardan University, Kabul (2020 - 2021)
American University of Afghanistan (2021)


3. Biodata:
Obaidullah Baheer was born 1990  and grew up in a very conservative household. His education was very Salafist, as well, and he could really relate to those who were fighting the U.S. existence in Afghanistan. And that presence sort of meant quite a lot to him, more than just the politics of it. It was a matter of identity. It was a matter of moral obligation to thwart them, to get them to leave our lands and stop occupying them, he said.


He was a lecturer of Transitional Justice at the American University in Kabul.  He is an Afghan academic who has decided to stay in Kabul despite the risks. Baheer’s grandfather, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, is a former mujahideen fighter once nicknamed the “Butcher of Kabul,” now among the senior political figures in the country attempting to shape a post-U.S. government with the Taliban. His father was jailed 6 years at a CIA torture site, as well as the Bagram Air Base. He was released 2008.

He started his career as a Software Engineer but soon moved on to International Relations. He completed his postgraduate studies in International Relations at the University of New South Wales, Australia. His final thesis was titled "A Study of the Structural and Ideational Factors Hindering Negotiations with the Taliban". He achieved a distinction grade for the thesis as well as his overall degree. The thesis had him invited to an international conference regarding Afghanistan's possible peace settlement. He was also invited as a guest lecturer at UNSW to lecture on Afghanistan's War and its possible end.  He is an adviser at the National Development Corporation.
 

Obaidullah Baheer said by forcing its own interpretation of Shari’a law upon Afghans, the Taliban is “locking out the population from decision-making” and exposing its “tyrannical tendencies.” Baheer said the Taliban views “any challenge to [its] policies as a challenge to the faith itself.”(20220106)

"I think the Taliban are using this [the return of prominent Afghans] to their advantage because it sort of gives them some sort of internal legitimacy, where the return of these politicians proves that they are open to having an inclusive system," said Obaidullah Baheer, an Afghan activist.(20220610)

 

Last Modified 2023-01-24
Established 2022-01-07