Pirzada, Rahim Mohammad

1. Former Ambassador to Spain:
Gul Ahmad Sherzada (20091122)
Masoud Khalili (20110107-20160700 sacked 20180908)
Humayoon Rasaw (20190820)
Rahim Pirzada (20231007)

2. Previous Function:
local staff member during Eklil Hakimi’s tenure as the Afghan ambassador to Washington (20110217-20150126)
second secretary at the Afghan Embassy in Paris
Ambassador to Spain acting (20231007)

3. Biodata:
Rahim Pirzada Rahim Peerzada aka Mohammad Rahim Wahidi is an Tajik and hails from Takhar Province. He went to Habibia High School. He is following a similar action by Afghanistan’s embassy in the Netherlands, said the embassy in Spain announced that it engages with the Taliban’s foreign ministry in a bid to facilitate consulate services for Afghanistan nationals. (20231007) He is married in U.S. and holds a green card.

Women are accusing Afghanistan's de facto ambassador in Madrid of sexual harassment and rape. Those affected describe to german daily WELT a system of abuse of power – built with the backing of the Taliban. Now even the German police have intervened.(20250312)
 

Afghanistan’s acting ambassador to Spain has been stripped of his diplomatic status amid accusations of serious sexual assaults, says The Telegraph. His accusers say Mohammad Rahim Peerzada abused his position of trust to approach them and, in one alleged case, commit rape after using a powerful drug. But Madrid’s provincial court ruled in September 2014 it could not investigate Peerzada as he enjoyed diplomatic immunity. He took over as ambassador at the Afghan Embassy in Madrid when the Taliban came to power in Kabul in 2021. After complaints from members of the Afghan community, Spain’s government has reacted by stripping Peerzada of his diplomatic status. “This person does not represent any official delegation, is not accredited in Spain and does not enjoy diplomatic immunity in our country,” Spain’s foreign ministry said in a statement it shared with The Telegraph. One woman reported Peerzada to the public prosecution office in Madrid last summer for alleged sexual assault.(20250319)
 

A former Taliban-appointed Afghanistan ambassador to Spain will remain in US immigration detention after a federal judge refused to order his release, according to media reports.

Mohammad Rahim Wahidi, an American resident and an Afghan diplomat, will spend time in a detention facility, reported Politico.

Wahidi was detained on Saturday March 29, 2025 at the Dulles International Airport as he returned to Virginia from Turkey. The former Taliban official lives in Sterling with his American national wife Mary Shakeri-Wahidi. According to a petition filed on Sunday March 30, 2025 in a US District Court, the Afghan diplomat’s detention has been linked to the criminal charges his brother-in-law Farhad Shakeri faces in a New York federal court. Shakeri has been accused of involvement in a criminal plot to assassinate US-based journalist Masih Alinejad who is critical of the Iranian government. The exiled journalist has reportedly thwarted multiple assassination attempts. The emergency petition said Wahidi was allegedly interrogated by FBI agents about Shakeri upon his arrival at Dulles airport. His wife was released shortly after. Wahidi is already embroiled in a diplomatic tussle in Spain where he was accused of sexual assault in February  2025. The Afghan official is accused of abusing his position to approach his victims and in one alleged case, committing rape after using a powerful drug, according to a report by a German newspaper. (20250402)

More Background:

Mohammad Rahim Peerzada serves as the acting head of the Embassy of Afghanistan in Spain and the permanent representative to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism). He previously worked as a local staff member during Eklil Hakimi’s tenure as the Afghan ambassador to Washington. Peerzada received his official appointment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during Ershad Ahmadi’s time as the political deputy of the previous government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sources suggest that he is influenced by Hikmatullah Karzai and Eklil Hakimi in his decision-making.

Sources also indicate that the acting head of the Afghan embassy in Madrid, a resident of Takhar Province, maintains a close relationship with Atta Muhammad Nur, the former governor of Balkh Province. According to these sources, Peerzada entered the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Atta Muhammad Nur’s support and began his diplomatic career as the second secretary at the Afghan Embassy in Paris. He later became an advisor at the Afghan Embassy in Madrid with Nur’s direct assistance and recommendation.
 

Reports indicate that such appointments, based on personal and political relationships, are common in Afghanistan’s diplomatic system. The close connection between Peerzada and Atta Muhammad Nur illustrates how support from influential figures, such as the former governor of Balkh, can significantly impact the professional trajectories of Afghan diplomatic officials.

The Afghan Embassy in Madrid has previously stated that it is in contact with the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding consular matters. The embassy claims to work collaboratively with the Taliban to resolve consular issues and sends confirmation letters of consular documents to the Taliban in Kabul for verification.