2. Previous Functions
Director of the Agency for Rehabilitation and Energy Conservation in Afghanistan (2001-2002),
Minister of Telecommunication/Information and Communications Technology in the Afghan Transitional Government ( 2002- 2004),
Adviser to Presindent Karzai  (2009)
Secretary of the High Council for Peace and Reconcilliation APRP (20101014),
Security Adviser to  President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and "Reintegration Minister"
Nominated Minister of Defense (20150521)
Nominated Chief of Directorate of Security (NDS) (20160506)
Approved NDS Chief by Wolesi Jirga (20160620-20190905 resigned)

3. Biodata
Mohammad Massoom Stanekzai Massoom Stanekzai Masoum Stanikzai Masoom Stanekzai was born 1958 in Mughul Khel village of Mohammad Agha District of Logar Province and belongs to Pashtun Stanekzai tribe. He hails from a middle-class family as third child of Mahmood Khan a government servant, after high school graduation. As a young man, Stanakzai served in the Afghan army for a decade, where he worked his way up, eventually attaining the rank of Colonel in Communications. No official dates are given, but this would have been during the PDPA era. He earned a master’s degree in philosophy of engineering for sustainable development from Cambridge University and a master’s in business management from Preston University. The Masters from Cambridge was gained between Stanakzai’s stints at the Ministry of Telecommunications and the High Peace Council. During that time, he was also a visiting fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (2008) and a Jennings Randolph Afghanistan Fellow (2008-2009). He has a B.A. from the Kabul Telecom Institute and is a graduate of the Kabul Military University.

As a young man, Stanakzai served in the Afghan army for a decade, rising through the ranks to end as a colonel, still, it seems, in communications. No official dates are given, but this would have been during the PDPA era. At some point, he moved into NGO work in Peshawar, moving up through the ranks there and serving eventually as director of one of the largest Afghan NGOs, the Agency for Rehabilitation and Energy Conservation (AREA) (2001-2002).  Stanakzai also served on the steering committee of ACBAR, the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief.

An adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and vice chair of the Demobilization and Reintegration Commission, a group responsible for the disbandment of illegal armed groups, Stanekzai’s research focuses on security, reconstruction and reconciliation in Afghanistan.

From 2002 to 2004, he was minister of telecommunication/ information and communications technology in the Afghan Transitional Government. Prior to that, he was director of the Agency for Rehabilitation and Energy Conservation in Afghanistan.

He has 25 years of substantive experience in design and management, including the telecom sector, humanitarian and community development, renewable energy, governance and security sector reform. He has worked with government entities, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, NGOs, the U.N., and private sectors in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. Most recently, he completed a draft regulatory framework for the operation of private security companies in Afghanistan, which was adopted by the government.

Stanekzai was a Jennings Randolph Afghanistan Fellow May 1, 2008 - February 28, 2009. He is also working for the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) 1200 17th Street N.W. - Washington, D.C. 20036 Tel: +1.202.457.1700 Fax: +1.202.429.6063, but is mostly based in Kabul, Afghanistan. His Project Focus is: Security, Reconstruction and Reconciliation in Afghanistan Phone: (202) 429-3874 E-mail: mstanekzai@usip.org

Masoom Stanekzai in charge of reconciliation acknowledged February 2, 2010 that the government had been in talks for some time with Taliban leaders to bring them into the government and end the war, dismissing the Taliban’s denials. Among members of the High Peace Council, only Massom Stanikzai is present in all secrete and public talks with the Taliban, and the rest are excluded from the process. But  President Karzai did not officially put an end to the council and has not yet come to the conclusion that the council is no longer fruitful. He avoids to decide that it is best to activate the council again by appointing a new head, and revising its policies and structure in order to have a pivotal place in talks.

He was seriously injured in the suicide bombing that killed High Peace Council Chairman Berhanuddin Rabbani on September 20, 2011, but recovered from his injuries.

A suicide bomber in western Kabul targeted top High Peace Council advisor Mohammad Massom Stanikzai on 20140621, killing one civilian and injuring several others.

Stanikzai escaped unharmed, but a black armored car was damaged in the bombing. (20140621)

Stanekzai was nominated as Minister of Defense by President Ashraf Ghani. There are accusations against Stanikzai of involvement in the murder of Burhanuddin Rabbani, the former chairman of High Peace Council (HPC). The former Northern Alliance member and now Governor of Balkh Province, Atta Noor said, his nomination as the MoD could have ugly repercussions. He warned of public backlash if the government goes ahead with its decision to nominate Stanikzaias the new Minister of MoD.(20150521)

An Afghan delegation in China was led by Mohammad Masoom Stanikzai holding talks on May 19 and 20 in Urumqi, the capital of China's western Xinjiang region. Three former senior Taliban officials attended — Mullah Abdul Jalil, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Rahmani and Mullah Abdul Razaq— who all are based in Pakistan and are close to the Taliban's Quetta-based leadership council.(20150525)

The defense nominee Masoom Stanekzai failed to win a vote of confidence from Wolesi Jirga. He  got 84 votes in favor when he required 107 votes to get approved as National Unity Government (NUG's) defense minister. Before the voting started, Stanekzai presented his future action plan, which was proven unsatisfactory to a total of 213 MPs present at the session.(20150703)

Acting Minister for Defense Mohammad Masoom Stanikzai was appointed acting NDS chief to replace Masoud Andarabi who has served as national intelligence agency's chief over the past few months.(20160506)

Masoom Stanekzai appointment as chief of the NDS is likely to elicit a favorable response from USA and China due to his long association in peace process. In May 2015, Stanekzai had led an Afghan delegation to Urumqi, the famous capital of Xinjiang region of China and had met three former senior Taliban officials viz Mullah Abdul Jalil, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Rahmani and Mullah Abdul Razaq for peace in Afghanistan. Moreover, Masoom Stanekzai is considered to be close to USA, which is also keenly involved in peace process in Afghanistan.

However, it is unlikely that unless some constructive results appear in peace process, NDS would stop its operations against Pakistan and Taliban there, under its new chief' Masoom Stanekzai before any considerable progress could be achieved for peace in Afghanistan.(20160511)
 

The Afghan parliament approved Masoom Stanikzai as the Afghan intelligence, National Directorate of Security (NDS) chief.

Stanikzai achieved 161 votes out of 224 lawmakers in the Lower House of the Parliament, Wolesi Jirga.(20160620)

The president accepted resignation of Hanif Atmar as national security adviser, but he rejected those of Defense Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak and head of National Directorate of Security Masoom Stanikzai.(20180829)

President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai on Thursday Sept 5, 2019 said he has accepted the resignation of Mohammad Masoom Stanikzai.

Tamim Walid, has been appointed as the Ambassador of Afghanistan to India. Until he receives his credential as the new Afghan envoy to New Delhi started he started a job as the Customers Deputy at the Ministry of Finance on Jul 25, 2019. But his credentials were not accepted by the Indian government. Now sources said former NDS chief Masoom Stanekzai has been considered for this post.(20200112)

Languages spoken:  Dari, Pashto and English