Mohammad Yunus Qanoni

Panjshir in the Mirror of Civilization

(Part 14)

Mohammad Yunus Qanoni President of the National Assembly of Afghanistan (Shoray-e-Milli).He is son of Muhammed Yousuf, was born in Panjshir province in 1957. He completed his secondary education in 1977, and obtained a degree in Islamic theology from the University of Kabul in 1980. He joined the Afghan resistance in early 1980's as a member of the Jamiat-e-Islami Party led by Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani. (1)

As a highly political and cultural national figure, was elected President of the Wolesi Jirga, with a total of 122 votes at the second round of the elections for the lower house of the Shoray-e-Milli. As well as being a candidate for previous Presidential Elections 2004, he was Minister of Education from 2002 until June 2004 and laid the foundation for the new education system of Afghanistan.

As member of the emergency Loya Jirga, his place was marked in people’s hearts for respecting the Bonn Agreement, supporting peace and strengthening the government by resigning from his position as Minister of Interior Affairs. His achievements in the areas of security (national, border and traffic police) while Minister of Interior Affairs is obvious to all. The commander of the International Security Assistance Forces praised the security situation in Afghanistan better than Washington during his service as the Minister of Interior Affairs. His attendance at the Bonn Conference as head of a high level delegation produced fruitful results. As one of the main voices against the Taliban, he is considered to be an outstanding figure by the Afghan and the international community alike.

During Mujahidin government in 1992, he was acting Minister of Defense, and the chairman of the security commission of Kabul City.

(1) http://www.ariaye.com/english/faiq2.html