Afghan Biographies

Balkhi, Assadullah Hanif Dr.


Name Balkhi, Assadullah Hanif Dr.
Ethnic backgr. Tajik
Date of birth 1960
Function/Grade Ex Minister
History and Biodata

2. Previous Functions of Hanif Asadullah Balkhi:
Construction Company Owner
Ambassador to Kuwait (20140510)
Minister of Education (20150418, 20160522, 20161113 impeached and acting)
3. Biodata:
Dr. Assadullah Hanif Balkhy Asadullah Hanif Balkhi was born 1960. He went to the Abu Hanifa religious school in Kabul and according to his introduction in front of the parliament, has a Bachelor degree from Kabul University, Sharia Faculty. He apparently also studied in Saudi Arabia, where he obtained a Masters degree in Sharia Law; he translated several books from Arabic in to Dari.

Asadullah Hanif who is recognized for his close relations with the Northern Alliance and late vice president Qasim Fahim is nurturing his own and his master’s interests.The first thing he did when seated as ambassador in Kuwait was to direct the various scholarships intended for students in Afghanistan to his own family members and his own ethnical group (Tajiks). Some of his own family members turned out to be minors and not even reached the right age for higher education.(20110314)
Asadullah Balkhi’s construction company, which provided services for coalition troops, recently reduced the number of employees to 35 from 60, halted activity at two apartment blocks in Mazar-e-Sharif and is cutting raw material imports.(20140318)

Assadullah Hanif Balkhi has been picked as Education Minister. (20150321) He was confirmed as Minister by Wolesi Jirga.(20150418)


Wolesi Jirga members sacked Ministers of Education Assadullah Hanif Balkhi and Transportation and Civil Aviation, Mohammadullah Batash in their absence with the majority of vote.(20161113)

Education Minister Asadullah Hanif Balkhi caused a public furore on 18 December 2016 when, in an interview, he said that across the country only a little over six million pupils were actually in school. His count contradicted the ones provided by his predecessor under former president Hamid Karzai, Faruq Wardak, who had reported that up to 11.5 million pupils – almost double Balkhi’s number – were attending school. Such high numbers of school attendance had not only served the Afghan government as a marker of post-Taleban success, but also donor governments as proof that their engagement in Afghanistan, though difficult, was still worthwhile.(20161208)
 

Balkhy speaks Dari and English.

Last Modified 2019-01-07
Established 2010-09-12