Haji Abdul Zahir Qader
Phone: 0777620620

2. Previous Functions:
8th Border Bataillon Commander, Takhar Province (2007)
Wolesi Jirga Member 2010 MP MNA Nangahar

3. Biodata:
Haji Abdul Zahir Qader Abdul Zahir Qadeer was born in 1973 in Nangarhar Province. Qadir is the son of Abdul Qadir, a senior member of the United Islamic Front (also called the Northern Alliance) and one of the first Vice Presidents of the Afghan Transitional Administration, who was assassinated on July 8, 2002. Qadir’s family has long-standing ties with Mohammed Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan.

Qadir graduated from high school in Saudi Arabia with a twelfth class certificate. He studied Law in Pakistan.

Qadir is the leader of the Peace Karwan group, a social/political movement based in Nangarhar. He is also currently the director of a body-building club and leader of the Coalition for Support of Rule of Law, formerly the Peace Karawan Party parliamentary group.

Qadir was formerly a general in Afghanistan's Border Guard. He is currently the president of the Rana Institute of English Language and Computer Science in Nangarhar. Qadir founded the Karwan-e-Solh (“Peace Caravan”) parliamentary group and chairs the 200 plus member Coalition for the Support of the Rule of Law.

Haji Abdul Zahir Qadir is an independet member of Wolesi Jirga 2010. Haji Zaher, the leader of the Coalition for Support of the Law, was the most provocative on the side of the opposition, telling the President that "You were just a restaurant owner in the United States, we cast our vote and chose you as president of Afghanistan. We can also take our votes back.” He further threatened that if the President did not correct his mistakes, they would take the protests to the four doors of the palace and tell him “Excellency, honourably write your resignation and goodbye.” Now the Karzai Government wants to silence critical Zahir Qadir using the Attorney Generals Office to accuse him of violation of law four years ago. This has the smell of a politically motivated show court case.

ABC News reported Afghan officials saying Karzai had wanted to name Haji Zaher as head of the border police, but a US military intelligence assessment (which the network had obtained in 2006) had “named Zahir as a drug smuggler.”

The Attorney General Office (AGO) has accused the influential lawmaker, Zahir Qadeer, from eastern Nangarhar province, of smuggling drugs. The MP was asked to appear before prosecutors (20110817) Qadeer was also accused of illegally appointing his cousin Bilal as his secretary when he was the police commander. Bilal would aid Qadeer on narcotics-related issues. A US newspaper, Boston Globe, had reported two years ago that President Hamid Karzai after his reelection in 2009 ordered the release of five drug smugglers from a jail. The paper said the released men included Bilal, the nephew of a politician, Haji Din Mohammad. Din Mohammad is the uncle of Qadeer and was campaigner for Karzai during the presidential election. The Attorney General Office also quoted a letter belonging to the National Directorate of Security saying the former border police commander, Haji Zahir Qadeer, had been involved in misusing his authority and making illegal appointments at the Sher Khan dry port.

Zahir called the letter a political plot against him, saying he would not accept it. However, he acknowledged that five border personnel had been arrested on the charge of smuggling drugs, but he was not involved. The five policemen were released in compliance with a presidential decree, he said, adding their arrest was also a politically motivated action. "Why the AG office did not release such a letter four years back," he questioned. Calls seeking comments from officials at the AGO were not answered in this regard.
 

Abdul Zahir Qadir was elected as First Deputy Speaker of Wolesi Jirga by getting 140 votes on 20120123, the first working day of second year, sixteenth session of the Afghan House of Representatives. The success of Mr Qadir, who was locked in a conflict with the Government for a year, is not pleasant for the Government. His rival Nadir Khan Katawazai from  Paktia Province got 46 votes.
 

Commission (2012): Defense and Territorial Affairs (2011), First Deputy Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga.

A coordinated suicide attack took place close to the residence of Haji Zahir Qadir in Jalalabad city, tNangarhar province. According to local government officials, the incident took place in the morning when two suicide bombers attempted to storm the residence Qadeer. Haji Qadir is one of the key Afghan lawmakers who has staged anti-ISIS operations for several times in eastern Nangarhar province and one stance the militia forces loyal to him decapitated several ISIS insurgents to avenge the execution of pro-government militia forces.
 

Qadir, also known as Haji Abdul Zahir, was arrested at a hotel in Nairobi on April 15, 2025 by Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). According to court documents, he is wanted in the United States on multiple charges, including narcotics importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had filed a criminal complaint against Qadir with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on March 25, 2025. The complaint led to an official diplomatic note submitted by the U.S. government, requesting Kenya to authorize Qadir’s extradition.

He is married with three sons and two daughters.(20170830)
 

Qadir speaks Pashto, Dari, Arabic, English and Urdu.