2. Previous Functions of Hazrat Omar Zakhelwal Zakhilwal
Lecturer of Economics in Canada
Senior Adviser Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development,
Kabul University, Professor of Developing Economics,
Chief economic adviser to the President,
World Bank and United Nations Consultant,
President of the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA),
Acting Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation (200911),
Minister of Finance (20090207 -20140929)
Acting Minister of Finance and Adviser on Economic Affairs (20140930)
Ambassador to Pakistan (20151126-20180800 stepped down)
3. Biodata
 Zakhilwal was born in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan. In 1984, at the age of 17, Zakhilwal along with his family fled Afghanistan and became refugees in Peshawar, Pakistan. Zakhilwal obtained his bachelors degree in economics at the University of Winnipeg, in Manitoba. He than moved to Kingston, Ontario, where he earned a master's degree in economics at Queen's University. Soon after he received his masters degree, he found a job with Statistics Canada in Ottawa, where he completed a doctorate in economics at Carleton University. He graduated in 2001.
Over the course of his stay in Afghanistan, Dr. Zakhilwal has been part of the two Loya Jirgas that elected the president for the Afghanistan Transitional Government (June 2002) and ratified Afghanistan’s Constitution (Dec 2003). served as an author of Afghanistan’s First National Human Development Report (released by UNDP in Feb 2005).He has done consulting work for the World Bank, UNDP, CIDA and other organizations.
Zakhilwal is a pro Karzai supporter and was leading Karzai's campaign team in the 2009 election. He was the one who claimed at a very early stage, that Hamid Karzai has won 68% of the vote. He was a delegate to the recent historic Loya Jirga in Kabul. He was nominated as a Minister of Finance by President Karzai on February 7, 2009, and approved by the Parliament on March 3, 2009.
The 44-year-old finance minister said he would like to cut Shakib Noori, Afghan's commercial attache at the Afghan Embassy in Washington, "into pieces," Noori charged in an email sent on April 28, 2012. According to an Afghan official familiar with the drama, Minister Zakhilwal was upset because of the allegations that he was accepting a bribe and having improper relations with a female Iranian American lawyer who is based in Kabul, who represents DynCorp and works for the U.S. legal firm Holland & Knight.
Dr. Zakhilwal's business affairs will be investigated after accusations aired on Afghan television that he stashed away more than $1 million in overseas banks.(20120802) Afghanistan's High Office of Oversight and Anti-corruption chief, Dr. Azizullah Ludin, told Reuters that he was not convinced by the denials and an investigation would begin into Zakhilwal's business affairs on 20120804.
Huge misappropriation of money were noticed by HOOAC at the Hairatan port in northern Balkh province and at Torkham customs office in Nangarhar. Some documents show $950,000 were deposited in bank accounts of Zakhilwal’s relatives.(20120909)
Defence affairs commission accused Lodin and acting defence minister Inayatullah Nazari of involvement in corruption and said they had evidence of Lodin and Nazari receiving 6 million in return for scrapping a 8 million agreement on military uniforms. He said both officials had been referred to the AGO.(20120909)
Zakhilwal holds Canadian citizenship but has "surrendered" his passport to the Canadian Embassy in Kabul.
President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai has appointed former finance minister Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal as acting finance minister and his advisor on economic affairs, the Cabinet Secretariat said on Tuesday.(20140930)
Former Afghan finance minister Dr Omar Zakhilwal has been tipped as the country’s new ambassador to Pakistan. Though not officially announced, Dr Zakhilwal will replace Janan Mosazai as Kabul’s top envoy in Islamabad.(20151126)
Government’s envoy to Pakistan, Omar Zakhilwal on Apr 14, 2017 denounced dropping of world largest non-nuclear bomb in eastern Nangarhar province. He strongly condemned the bombing in the strongest possible terms. Zakhilwal termed the bombing of mother of bombs as reprehensible and counterproductive.(20170414)
Dr. Omar Zakhilwal has urged President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai to replace him. Zakhilwal, who has completed his two-year diplomatic assignment in Islamabad. Also the president’s special representative to the neighbouring country, Zakhilwal has not yet asked for another job. He may run for next presidential election and wants to launch a campaign in the near future.(20180226)
Zakhilwal is a former Professor of Economics at Carleton University in Ottawa, he is fluent in English, Pashto and Dari. |