Muhammad Umar Babrakzai
{{Short description|Afghan tribal chief}}
{{Infobox governor
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Muhammad Umar Babrakzai
| native_name = محمد عمر ببرکزی
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Muhammad Umar Babrakzai in 1983.png
| caption = Babrakzai in 1983
| alt =
| order =
| office = Tribal chief of the Zadran tribe
| term_start = before 1980
| term_end =
| lieutenant =
| predecessor = Unknown, possibly Abdulla Khan Jadran Yawan
| successor =
| office2 = Supreme Court justice
| term_start2 = {{circa}} 1960/70s
| term_end2 = before 1979
| predecessor2=
| successor2 =
}}
Muhammad Umar Babrakzai ({{Floruit}} 1980 – present) is the tribal chief of the Zadran tribe and Afghan jurist.
Background and early life
Babrakzai is the grandson of Babrak Khan, a previous Zadran chieftain who died in 1924 or 1925, though it's unclear through what father.{{Cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Vahid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b95MAgAAQBAJ |title=Fountainhead of Jihad: The Haqqani Nexus, 1973-2012 |last2=Rassler |first2=Don |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-932798-0 |pages=56 |language=en}}
It is unknown who preceded Babrakzai as chieftain. It was possibly Abdulla Khan Jadran Yawan, who was chieftain as of 1969,{{Cite book |last=Akhtar |first=Jamna Das |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cVfRAAAAMAAJ |title=Political conspiracies in Pakistan: Liaquat Ali's murder to Ayub Khan's exit |date=1969 |publisher=Punjabi Pustak Bhandar |pages=223 |language=en}} although it's unclear if Babrakzai was Abdulla's immediate successor or if someone else was chieftain between them.
At some point, Babrakzai moved to France where he received an education. Upon returning to Afghanistan, he became part of Kingdom of Afghanistan's elite. At some point after King Mohammed Zahir Shah initiated a period of democratic reforms with the 1964 constitution, Babrakzai served as Supreme Court justice.{{Cite book |last=Rubin |first=Barnett R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=laG03iJF7t8C |title=The Fragmentation of Afghanistan. State Formation and Collapse in the International System |date=2002 |publisher=Yale University Press |edition=2nd |isbn= 0300095198|pages=194 |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=laG03iJF7t8C |title=The Fragmentation of Afghanistan. State Formation and Collapse in the International System |last=Rubin |first=Barnett R. |date=2002 |publisher=Yale University Press |edition=2nd |isbn= 0300095198|pages=287 |language=en}}
Tribal chief
File:Reagan_sitting_with_people_from_the_Afghanistan-Pakistan_region_in_February_1983.jpg
Babrakzai opposed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The authors of Out of Afghanistan describe him as being the "prime mover" of the initial Afghan resistance, due to him forming a "national council" to map out an Afghan response.{{Cite book |last1=Cordovez |first1=Diego |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iFasqHGo3p0C |title=Out of Afghanistan: The Inside Story of the Soviet Withdrawal |last2=Harrison |first2=Selig S. |date=1995-06-29 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-536268-8 |pages=62 |language=en}} He joined the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan, became the chairman of a pro-resistance loya jirga, and also organized a jirga in Peshawar. In addition, Babrakzai maintained contacts with France during this period, and helped French activists to set up a International People's Tribunal in Paris.
Babrakzai continued to resist the Soviets during the rest of the Soviet–Afghan War. In 1983, he attended a meeting with US president Ronald Reagan.{{Cite web |title=C12819 (01) |url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/photo/c12819-01 |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=Ronald Reagan |language=en}} An image of this meeting later became an internet meme, where Babrakzai and other members of the meeting were falsely described as Taliban officials, even though the Taliban had not been formed yet by that time.{{Cite news |date=2021-08-23 |title=Fact Check-Photo does not show Ronald Reagan 'meeting with the Taliban' in the 80s |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-afghanistan-taliban-idUSL1N2PU0PT |access-date=2022-06-15}} Despite his regional influence, however, Babrakzai had little control over the militants in his tribal territories, over whom Jalaluddin Haqqani gained more control.
Babrakzai continues to be tribal chief as of 2019.{{Cite web |title=Govt Proposes Lists For Negotiating Team, Reconciliation Council |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/govt-proposes-lists-negotiating-team-reconciliation-council |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=TOLOnews |language=en}}
Family
{{Babrak Khan family tree}}