Afghan Biographies

Sheikh Neda Mohammad Nadeem Nida Mohammad Nadim


Name Sheikh Neda Mohammad Nadeem Nida Mohammad Nadim
Ethnic backgr. Pashtun
Date of birth 1977
Function/Grade Minister of higher Education acting
History and Biodata

1. Former Ministers of Higher Education:
Danesh, (201001)
Danesh, Minister Designate Higher Education (20100626), no vote of confidence.
Danesh, Acting Minister of Higher Education (2010)
Dr. Mohammad Azam Dadfar (2009-201001), acting Minister till 20120305.
Dr. Obaidullah Obaid (20120305 -20140930)
Dr. Obaidullah Obaid Acting Minister of Higher Education (20141001)
acting Minister of Higher Education Muhammad Osman Baburi (20141209)
Mrs Prof Farida Mohmand (20150418, 20161114 appeached and acting)
Abdul Latif Rushan Abdul Latif Roshan (20171030) acting resigned (20171122)
Khwaja Omari (20171122, 20171204 confirmed)
Abdul Tawab Balakarzai (20190526, 20200831)
Dr. Abbar Basir (20200831, 20201121)
Abdul Bari Haqqani (20210830, 20221018) acting
Nada Mohammad Nadeem Nida Mohammad Nadim(20221018)

Deputy Minister of Higher Education:
Dr Lutfullah Khairkhwa  (20211005, 20220118)

 

Deputy Minister of Higher Education:
Prof. M. Osman Babury Babari, Deputy Minister for academic Affairs (20100119),
Mohammad Sarwar Danish (20100118),
Ass Prof. Dr. Gul Hassan Walizai (20120912)
Abdul Tawab Balakarzai (20181100, 20190322)
Financial and Administrative Deputy Ministry of Higher Education:
Ahmad Seyar Mahjor, (20170311)

Head of the examinations division in the Taliban’s Higher Education Ministry:
Abdul Qadir Khamush (202210210)
 

2. Previous Function:
Taliban intelligence chief for Eastern Afghanistan (20210304)
Governor of Nangarhar province (15082021-20092021)
Police Chief Nangarhar province (092021)
Governor of Kabul province (20220224)

Minister of higher Education acting (20221018)


3. Biodata:
Sheikh Nida Mohammed Nadim Maulvi Nida Mohammad Nadeem Mullah Neda Mohammad Mawlavi Nada Mohammad Nadim Nadim was born 1977 in Afghanistan. He has vowed to root out all forms of the modern secular education that thrived in Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 toppled the Taliban’s first regime. He has also voiced his opposition to education for girls and women, calling it un-Islamic and against Afghan values. Since his appointment, Nadim has scrapped all of the rules and bylaws of the ministry tasked with regulating and overseeing public universities in Afghanistan. He has also appointed Taliban fighters as officials and teachers at universities, despite their lack of qualifications.

Observers said that Nadim’s appointment and rise within the Taliban suggest that the militant group is planning to impose a blanket ban on female education like during its first stint in power from 1996 to 2001.

A Kabul-based analyst said Nadim is a member of a council of Taliban clerics who have advised Akhundzada since the group seized power last year (2021).

Nadim, who is believed to be in his 40s, established a madrasah in the southern province of Kandahar after the U.S.-led invasion. He later joined the Taliban and became a member of the group’s military commission in Kandahar.

Nadim earned the title Sheikh al-Hadith, a distinction reserved for the most eminent scholars of the Prophet Muhammad's sayings.

Observers have said that Nadim’s religious credentials have endeared him to Akhundzada, who has the same title and is respected among the Taliban as a scholar and jurist.

After the Taliban takeover, Nadim was appointed as the governor for the eastern province of Nangarhar. Following a reshuffle in February (2022), he gained the coveted governorship of Kabul Province, which includes the capital.

A source with knowledge of the Taliban’s internal politics said that Nadim has aligned himself with powerful ultraconservative clerics close to Akhundzada. They include Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the Taliban’s chief justice, Mohammad Khalid Haqqani, the head of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, and Education Minister Habibullah Agha.

The source said Nadim’s predecessor, Abdul Baqi Haqqani, had enraged ultraconservatives by allowing women to attend university.

The source said Nadim’s opposition to female education has angered some Taliban pragmatists who fear that the group’s restrictions on girls and women will prevent them from gaining international recognition and assistance.

 

Last Modified 2023-12-19
Established 2022-10-19