President of Afghanistan Drops His Tribal Name

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has asked all government and media to use his family name only–not his tribal name. The president will no longer be referred to as “Ahmadzai,”a name the president used to appeal to voters in the Pashtun south and southeast during the presidential campaign earlier this year.

Ghani signed a letter last week to the administration of the Presidential Palace, telling all government departments to drop “Ahmadzai” from official documentation.

“The chairman of the Office of Administrative Affairs Abdul Salam Rahimi has sent a formal letter to all the ministries and state institutions to call the President of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani,” said Fayeq Wahidi, deputy presidential spokesman of the national unity government.

“Ahmadzai” refers to the Pashtun tribe from which Ghani comes. The Ahmadzai are one of the biggest tribes in Afghanistan, and are based largely in the south and southeast of the nation. Ghani himself, however, hails from Logar Province south of Kabul.

It is custom in Afghanistan for tribal names to be added to a name to denote affiliation to a tribe of region. Ghani used the name while campaigning for the presidency this year in an appeal to Pashtun voters in the south.

Ghani had run against Abdullah Abdullah, who drew support from Tajiks in the north and east of the country. Abdullah is currently the chief executive of the national unity government of which Ghani is president.

The two politicians formed the national unity government after each contended that he had won the election, and following pressure from the US and UN to reach an agreement.

This is not the first time the removal of tribal names has been a presidential concern in Afghanistan. Former President Mohammad Daoud Khan initiated a campaign to remove tribal names as a top-down effort in the 1970s.

By James Haleavy

Photo: isafmedia

President of Afghanistan Drops His Tribal Name