Haji Muhammad Muhaqiq
Afghan politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Haji Muhammad Muhaqiq[a] (born 26 July 1955) is an Afghan politician and cleric. He is the founder and chairman of the People's Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan (PIUPA) since 2004. He also served as deputy chief executive of Afghanistan from 2014 to 2019 under Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.
Haji Muhammad Muhaqiq حاجی محمد محقق | |
|---|---|
Muhaqiq in May 2010 | |
| Deputy Chief Executive of Afghanistan | |
| In office 13 October 2014 – 24 January 2019 | |
| Chief Executive | Abdullah Abdullah |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Dissolved |
| Leader of PIUPA | |
| Assumed office 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 July 1955 |
| Party | Hezbe Wahdat (1990–2004) PIUPA (since 2004) |
| Occupation | Politician, former Mujahideen leader |
Born in Mazar-i-Sharif to a Hazara family, Muhaqiq joined the mujahideen forces after the 1978 Saur Revolution. He fought under Hazara groups in the Soviet–Afghan War and joined the Hezbe Wahdat of Abdul Ali Mazari, later becoming the militia's leader in northern Afghanistan. Following the murder of Mazari by the Taliban in 1995, Muhaqiq joined the Northern Alliance and fought the Taliban, later participating in the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001. Muhaqiq served as a vice chairman and minister of planning in the Afghan Interim Administration under President Hamid Karzai. Muhaqiq formed his own party, the PIUPA, in 2004 and ran as a candidate in the 2004 Afghan presidential election. He ended up in the third position after Karzai and Yunus Qanuni.
Following the Taliban takeover in 2021, Muhaqiq fled to Turkey and became part of the National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan along with other politicians, including Abdul Rashid Dostum and Atta Muhammad Nur.
Early years and education
Haji Muhammad Muhaqiq was born on 26 July 1955 in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province to an ethnic Hazara family. His father, Haji Sarwar Muhaqiq, hailed from a Shia Muslim background.
Muhammad Muhaqiq gained a bachelor's degree in Islamic studies from Iran and can speak Persian, Uzbek and Arabic.
Political career
Afghan conflicts (1979–2001)
During the Afghan civil war in the early 1990s, he was regarded as a prominent leader fighting for his Hazara people. In the late 1990s, Muhaqiq joined the Northern Alliance (United Front) in their resistance and struggle against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban). Muhaqiq participated in the fall of the Taliban.[1]
After the fall of the Taliban, he was appointed as a vice chairman and the Minister of Planning in the interim government of Hamid Karzai.
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (1979–2001)
In 2004, Muhaqiq split with Karim Khalili and formed his own party, the People's Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan.[2] He ran as a candidate in the 2004 Afghan presidential election. He came in third place with 11.7% of the votes after Hamid Karzai and Yunus Qanuni.[3]
A January 2009 article by Ahmad Majidyar of the American Enterprise Institute included Muhaqiq on a list of fifteen possible candidates in the 2009 Afghan presidential election.[3] In the end, however, Muhaqiq opted to support President Karzai against his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah in the election.
In 2010, Muhaqiq became critical of President Karzai because of Karzai's policy of appeasement towards the Taliban insurgents.[4] In late 2011, Muhaqiq, Ahmad Zia Massoud and Abdul Rashid Dostum created the National Front of Afghanistan (also Afghanistan National Front, ANF).[5]
In June 2013, Muhaqiq survived an assassination attempt.[6]
From 2014 until 2019 he served as the second deputy of the chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, at the end of January 2019 he was dismissed by the president Ashraf Ghani under the Article 13 Item 64 of the National constitute of Afghanistan. But later he refused his dismissal and continued attending Official meetings with Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. During the 2019 presidential election, he was the second deputy of Hanif Atmar under the ticket Truth and Justice (Afghanistan) and then left the ticket and joined Abdullah Abdullah.
Activities in exile (2021–present)
Following the Taliban takeover in 2021, Muhaqiq met with Abdul Rashid Dostum and Atta Muhammad Nur to form a united coalition.[7] Muhaqiq has since sought refuge in Turkey.[7]
In April 2026, Muhaqiq announced that he recognizes the Durand Line.[8]