1. Former Ambassador to Japan:
Haroun Mir (2009),
Eklil Hakimi (20091122 - 2010),
Dr. Sayed Moh. Amin Fatimie Fatemie (20101208 -20170700)
Dr. Bashir Mohabbat (20170719)
Mohammad Shaida Abdali (20210100 - 20260131)

2. Previous Functions:
Deputy national security adviser NSC National Security Council (20101110 - 20120716)
Ambassador to India (20120717 - 20180920 resigned)
Presidential Election 2019 Candidate
Ambassador to Japan (20210100 - 20260131)
 

Background:
The Afghan Embassy in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, has announced it would suspend its activities after January 31, 2026 following consultations with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a statement, the embassy said all activities and services of the embassy, including political, economic, cultural and consular affairs, will be suspended after January 31, 2026, until further notice.

The statement said that the decision was made in close coordination with Japanese authorities and in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The Afghan Embassy wrote that according to the Vienna Convention, the Japanese government will respect the security of the mission (embassy, property and archives) and will continue to protect it.

The statement urged Afghans living in Japan to contact the consular section of the embassy before January 31 if they need consular services.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate has not yet commented on the matter.(20251227)

3. Biodata:
Dr. Shahida Muhammad Abdali was born 1978 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He studied at Jawaharlal-Nehru-Universität, National Defense University. Abdali  was the Deputy national security adviser NSC National Security Council (20101110) and Special Assistant to President Hamid Karzai. He was an important key person in the President's office and controls the President's time schedule and decides who has access to the President (20101009)
 

Abdali resigned Oct 2018 during an official visit by President Ashraf Ghani to India after serving as Afghanistan’s envoy there for six years. After his resignation, Abdali he felt the need to return to Afghanistan and serve his country from within. “Serving my country for years in India, I felt the need to return and serve my country from within.” Participants of a gathering in Kandahar City said they had created a commission “People Voice” to hold similar gatherings in Kandahar and others provinces to ask people to support Abdali in the April 20, 2019 presidential election.(20181105)

Shaida Mohammad Abdali, who earlier served as the Afghan deputy national security advisor and special assistant to President Karzai, presented his credentials to President Pratibha Patil (India)(20120720).

Unidentified gunmen have killed the brother of Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India Shaida Mohammad Abdali in southern Kandahar province. Abdali’s brother Haji Sardar Mohammad was offering prayers in mosque, located in the third sector of Kandahar city, when unidentified gunmen opened fire on him.(20151215)

In his resignation letter to President Mohammad Ashraf, Dr. Abdali has said he ends his diplomatic service abroad and will return to Afghanistan to serve the country as per the demands of the people, considering the current difficult situation. During his tenure as Ambassador , he also completed his Doctorate (Ph.D) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, and wrote a book “Afghanistan Pakistan India: A Paradigm Shift.”(20180920)

Abdali resigned Sept 2018 during an official visit by President Ashraf Ghani to India after serving as Afghanistan’s envoy there for six years. After his resignation, Abdali he felt the need to return to Afghanistan and serve his country from within. “Serving my country for years in India, I felt the need to return and serve my country from within.” Participants of a gathering in Kandahar City said they had created a commission “People Voice” to hold similar gatherings in Kandahar and others provinces to ask people to support Abdali in the April 20, 2019 presidential election.(20181105)

Abdali is a Presidential Election 2019 Candidate. His first and second running-mates are respectively: Abdul Basir Salangi, a Tajik from Parwan, and Zulfiqar Omid, a Hazara from Daikundi. Abdali withdrew his candidacy and joined president Ghani’s State-Builder team.

2019, President Ghani appointed Walid Tamim – who was accused of corruption and embezzlement and whose case was referred to the Attorney General’s Office – as Afghanistan’s ambassador to India. But his credentials were not accepted by the Indian government. Sources said former NDS chief Masoom Stanekzai has been considered for this post.(2020113)

He is married and has four children.

Abdali speaks Pashtu, Urdu and English.