National Islamic Front of Afghanistan
{{Short description|Primarily Pashtun Sufi political party in Afghanistan}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox political party
| name = National Islamic Front of Afghanistan
| native_name = محاذ ملی اسلامی افغانستان
| native_name_lang =
| lang1 =
| name_lang1 =
| lang2 =
| name_lang2 =
| lang3 =
| name_lang3 =
| lang4 =
| name_lang4 =
| logo = Emblem of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan.svg{{!}}class=skin-invert
| logo_size = 150px
| caption =
| colorcode = {{party color|National Islamic Front of Afghanistan}}
| abbreviation =
| leader = Hamed Gailani (since 2017)
| president =
| chairperson =
| general_secretary =
| first_secretary =
| secretary_general =
| presidium =
| secretary =
| spokesperson =
| founder = Ahmed Gailani
| leader1_title =
| leader1_name =
| leader2_title =
| leader2_name =
| leader3_title =
| leader3_name =
| leader4_title =
| leader4_name =
| leader5_title =
| leader5_name =
| slogan =
| founded = 1979
| legalised =
| dissolved =
| merger =
| split =
| predecessor =
| merged =
| successor =
| headquarters = Kabul
| newspaper =
| think_tank =
| student_wing =
| youth_wing =
| wing1_title =
| wing1 =
| wing2_title =
| wing2 =
| wing3_title =
| wing3 =
| membership_year =
| membership =
| ideology = {{Nowrap|Afghan nationalism
Pashtun Interests
Royalism (formerly)}}
| position = Right-wing
| national =
| international =
| european =
| europarl =
| affiliation1_title =
| affiliation1 =
| colors =
| anthem =
| seats1_title = Seats in the Leadership Council
| seats1 = {{Composition bar|0|30|{{party color|National Islamic Front of Afghanistan}}}}
| symbol =
| flag = 200px
| website = [https://www.facebook.com/pages/%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%BA%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%B0/1410987529153587 Facebook page]
| state = Afghanistan
}}
{{Infobox war faction
| name = National Islamic Front of Afghanistan
| native_name = {{Nobold|محاذ ملی اسلامی افغانستان}}
| native_name_lang = fa
| logo =
| founder =
| leader = Ahmed Gailani
| military_leader =
| active = {{plainlist|
- 1979–1989 (Part of Afghan Mujahideen)
- 1989–1992 (1st government as Interim)
- 1992–2001 (2nd government)
- 2001–present (as political party)}}
| country = Afghanistan
| clans =
| headquarters =
| ideology = Afghan nationalism
Anti-communism
Royalism
| status =
| partof = Afghan Mujahideen (1979–1989)
{{flagicon image|Flag of Afghan Interim Government in exile (1988-1992).svg}} Interim Afghan Government (1989–1992)
{{flagicon|Afghanistan|1992}} Islamic State of Afghanistan (1992–2001)
{{flagicon|Afghanistan|1992}} Northern Alliance (1996–2001)
| allies = *{{flag|United States}}
- {{flag|Pakistan}}
- {{flag|West Germany}}
- {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom
- {{flagicon|France}} France
- {{flagicon|Turkey}} Turkey
- {{flagicon|Japan}} Japan
- {{flagicon|China}} China
- {{flagicon|Egypt}} Egypt
- {{flagicon|NATO}} NATO
- {{flagicon|Saudi Arabia}} Saudi Arabia
- {{flagicon|Kuwait}} Kuwait (1991)
Non-state Allies:
- {{flagicon image|Flag of Hezbi Islami Gulbuddin.svg}} Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin
- {{flagicon image|Flag of Jamiat-e Islami.svg}} Jamiat-e Islami
- {{flagicon image|Logo of Hezb-e Islami Khalis.svg}} Hezb-e Islami Khalis
| opponents = State Opponents:
- {{flagicon|Democratic Republic of Afghanistan}} {{flagicon image|Flag of Taliban.svg}} Afghanistan (1974–1992; 1996–2001; 2021–present)
- {{flagicon|Soviet Union}} Soviet Union (until 1989)
- {{Flagcountry|Ba'athist Iraq}} (1991)
Non-state Opponents:
- {{flagicon image|Flag of Hezbi Islami Gulbuddin.svg}} Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (From 1992)
- {{flagicon|Taliban|2023}} Taliban
- {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
- {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Al-Qaeda
| battles = *Soviet–Afghan War
- Afghan Civil War (1989–92)
- Gulf War
- Afghan Civil War (1992–96)
- Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
| designated_as_terror_group_by =
| flag =
| colours =
| website =
}}
National Islamic Front of Afghanistan (Mahaz-e Milli-ye Islami-ye Afghanistan, Mahaz-i Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan) is a political party in Afghanistan.
{{cite book
| isbn = 978-0-19-512559-7
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6VeCWQfVNjkC&q=mahazmili+OR+%22Mahaz-e+Milli-ye+Islami-ye%22+Afghanistan&pg=PA92
| title = The Oxford dictionary of Islam
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| author = John L. Esposito
| year = 2004
| page = 92
| quote = He was succeeded by his sons, Sher agha Jan (Sayyid Ali Gaylani, b. 1923) and the Effendi Jan (Sayyed Ahmad Gaylani, b. 1932), who left Kabul in 1978 and headed the National Islamic Front, Mahaz-e Milli-ye Islami-ye Afghanistan, in Peshawar during the jihad against the Soviet occupation.
}}
{{cite news
|url = http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/NDI_2009PresidentialAndProvincialCouncilElectionsInAfghanistan.pdf
|title = The 2009 Presidential and Provincial Council Electionsin Afghanistan
|publisher = National Democratic Institute
|year = 2009
|page = 49
|archivedate = 12 July 2011
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110712231911/http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/NDI_2009PresidentialAndProvincialCouncilElectionsInAfghanistan.pdf
|url-status = live
|quote = Four of the Paktika provincial council members are affiliated with the Mahaz Mili Islami Afghanistan party and one is affiliated with the Jamiat Islami Afghanistan party.
}}
It has been led, since its founding, by members of a prominent Sufi family, the Gailani. It is primarily (but not exclusively) a Pashtun party, followers of the Sufi holy man Pir Sayyid Ahmed Gailani have a reputation for moderate thought and the traditional mystical and introspective religious currents that characterize Sufism in that sect.
History
=Formation & role in the Soviet War in Afghanistan=
The party was formed in 1979 in Peshawar, Pakistan,http://www.afghan-bios.info/index.php?option=com_afghanbios&id=569&task=view&total=2869&start=865&Itemid=2 Gilani, Pir Sayed Ahmad Gailani – Afghan Biographies where Gailani had fled to following the rise to power of the communist PDPA in Afghanistan. The party was largely moderate and royalist, with ties to the former royal family.
This party was a member of the Peshawar Seven, and was used by the Pakistani ISI for distributing CIA-funded weapons to the mujahideen fighting the Soviet occupation. NIFA had the most liberal and secular stance of all the Peshawar parties, and it supported the return of King Zahir Shah from exile.{{cite book |last=Vogelsang |first=Willem |title=The Afghans |year=2002 |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |location=Malden |isbn=978-0-631-19841-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/afghans00voge/page/316 316] |url=https://archive.org/details/afghans00voge/page/316 }} Representing the interests of the pre-war Pashtun establishment, it rejected both communism and Islamism, in favour of "nationalism and democracy."{{cite book |last=Rubin |first=Barnett |authorlink=Barnett Rubin |title=The fragmentation of Afghanistan |year= 1995|publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn= 0-300-05963-9 |page=203}} The party line emphasized freedom for individuals, the press, and organizations, whilst advocating the separation of powers of government.http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad1014.html Pakistan/Afghanistan: Information on the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan (NIFA), in particular, its activities in Quetta, Baluchistan, and whether the organization issue certificates of identity to Afghan refugees in Pakistan between 1990 and 1998
The party had a local following in Paktia and Nangarhar, partly due to family tribal ties of Gailani.{{cite book| last=Amstutz| first=J. Bruce| publisher=Diane Publishing| isbn=978-0-7881-1111-2| url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RUSNyMH1aFQC| title=Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation| year=1994|oclc=948347893}}
Gailani's constituency was drawn from the following of the Qadiryyah, and his group functioned like a Sufi order, greatly hampering its efficiency as a political and military organisation. The followers of the pir always expected to interact with him personally, which meant that the party functioned like a court, centered on Gailani and his children, rather than like a modern party. No decision was ever delegated. The quantity of weapons a NIFA mujahideen commander could expect to receive depended mostly on his personal relation with the pir. Also the pir's tradition of generosity led to many abuses, with many party officials receiving essentially fictitious posts through personal contacts.{{cite book |last=Edwards |first=David |title=Before Taliban: Genealogies of the Afghan Jihad |url=https://archive.org/details/beforetalibangen00edwa |url-access=limited |year= 2002 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=978-0-520-22861-0 |page= 274}}
Despite this, NIFA remained the most popular party among the Afghan refugees living in Pakistan. A poll carried out in 1987 revealed that 456 refugees out of a sample of 2,000 supported NIFA, which was the highest score of any of the mujahideen parties.{{cite book |last=Urban |first=Mark |authorlink= Mark Urban |title=War in Afghanistan |year=1990 |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan |location=London |isbn=0-333-51477-7|pages=223 }} By contrast, the Pakistanis, judging the group inefficient allocated NIFA only 10-11 percent of the weapons procured by the CIA, with a much larger share going to Islamist groups, in particular Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin.{{cite book |last=Yousaf |first=Mohammad |author2=Adkin, Mark |title=Afghanistan: The Bear Trap |year=2001 |publisher=Casemate |location=Havertown |isbn=0-9711709-2-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/afghanistanthebe00yous/page/105 105] |url=https://archive.org/details/afghanistanthebe00yous/page/105 }}
=Following the Soviet Withdrawal=
During the 1990s, it was a minor party within the Northern Alliance.
In 1991, they fought in Kuwait against Ba'athist Iraq during the Gulf War.{{Cite web|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a234743.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412060905/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a234743.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=12 April 2019|website=apps.dtic.mil|access-date=2018-12-18 |title=DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM A CHRONOLOGY AND TROOP LIST FOR THE 1990–1991 PERSIAN GULF CRISIS}}
Gailani supported the candidacy of Karzai in the 2004 presidential election.
In November 2009 Lal Mohammad, a senior official in the party was assassinated by gunmen mounted on a motorcycle.
{{cite news
|url = http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2009/11/03/ex-jihadi-commander-teacher-killed-north
|title = Ex-jihadi commander, teacher killed in north by Zabihullah Ihsas & Hamid on 3 November 2009–13:30
|publisher = Pahjwok Afghan News
|author = Zabihullah Ihsas, Hamid
|date = 3 November 2009
|archivedate = 13 March 2012
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120313033908/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2009/11/03/ex-jihadi-commander-teacher-killed-north
|url-status = live
|quote = Gul Ahmad, son of the 55-year-old, said his father had no political relations with anyone and solved people's problems through jirgas. He added his father was a commander of the Jmiat Islami Faction before joining the Mahaz Mili Faction that might be a reason behind his killing.
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
- Program for Culture and Conflict Studies. [http://www.nps.edu/programs/ccs/MaydenWardak.html Wardak]. US Naval Postgraduate School. Last updated 23 January 2009.
{{Political parties in Afghanistan}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Islamic Front of Afghanistan}}
Category:1979 establishments in Afghanistan
Category:Anti-Soviet factions in the Soviet–Afghan War
Category:Islamic political parties in Afghanistan
Category:Islamic Unity of Afghanistan Mujahideen
Category:Nationalist parties in Afghanistan