KABUL (SW):Pir Sayed Ahmad Gailani, the late chairman of the High Peace Council (HPC) passed away yesterday evening. His funeral is scheduled for tomorrow in his hometown in Nangarhar.
In conversation with Salam Watandar, Moin Mirastiyal, analyst on political affairs, called Gailani a peace loving person. He added that Gailani was influential in the King Zahir Shah and Prime Minister Daud Khan’s era. According to Mirastiyal, Gailani’s achievements can be divided into 2 eras. One is after the Communist Coup of the 1970s when Gailani went to Pakistan and started his struggle against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Second is about his retreat from the politics during the civil unrest in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, Ferdaws Kawaish, another analyst, has a different view on Gailani’s leadership. “Although, Gailani was different from many other Jihadi leaders, but despite the fact that he was the chairman of HPC, his achievements against the Taliban are meager”, said Kawaish.
Pir Sayed Ahmad Gailani was born in 1932 in Sorkh-Rood district of Nangarhar province. He attended Abu Hanifa madrasa (religious school) as primary schooling and later pursued his higher studies at the Kabul University in Sharia Law faculty. His political party was active in fighting the Soviets. The party later became dormant in the 1990s. Gailani’s party joined the Northern-Alliance against the Taliban. He increasingly became involved in the post-Taliban regime. He was a strong supporter of former president Hamid Karzai in his interim and transitional presidency.
Ahmad Gailani, backed Ashraf Ghani in the 2015 presidential election, and had served as the Chairman of HPC till his death.
ENDS