Saturday 18 February 2012

Useful database of Afghan personalities

The most complete database of prominent Afghans and Afghan political groupings can be found on a very useful site called Who is Who in Afghanistan. The database contains information on just about any Afghan you need to know about, as well as more generic entries. For example, a very useful note on the Kandahar Tribal Council lists all the members, as well as giving a good breakdown of the local tribes and their prominent members. It also has entries for the Quetta Shura and its members, the 2011 Bonn Conference, the Haqqani network and many hundreds of other personalities.
There is also an interesting section called Sar-e-Chowk or Rumour-Intelligence, which contains some fascinating snippets. For example, this section says that Burhanuddin Rabbani's son Salahuddin, formerly Afghan Ambassador to Turkey, will be appointed to chair the High Peace Council as a replacement for his assassinated father. He has already been appointed as leader of the Jamiat-e-Islami.
Other rumours reported include one that suggests President Karzai will support Mustafa Zahir, grandson of the former King Mohammad Zahir Shah, in the next presidential election. Karzai himself, says the note, will get an honorary position that will allow him to continue his political activities in the Presidential Palace. This, of course, is assuming that the Taliban does not come back into power.
No information on who writes this or how it is funded although it is described as a "private, independent, non-profit database". Anyone wishing to contribute to the database can send material to info@afghan-bios.info.

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