Quick Facts
Biography
Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat (Dari/Pashto: قاري فصیح الدین فطرت, Pashto pronunciation: [qɑˈri fasɪhʊˈdin]) is an Afghan military commander who is the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. He has been a senior member of the Taliban.
Early life
Qari Fasihuddin was born in Badakhshan Province and originated from Isterab, Warduj District. He belongs to the Tajik ethnic group and raised by religious family.
Military career
Following the Taliban’s fall from power in Afghanistan in 2001 after seizing control of Kabul in 1996, the movement created a de facto governmental order that placed Taliban members—shadow officials—in control of specific areas within Afghanistan. At one point, Fasihuddin was the shadow governor of Badakshan. It is because of Qari Fasihuddin that the entire Northern Alliance was toppled despite the fact that the Haqqani network and Mullah Yaqub, Mullah Baradar and Mullah Haibatullah were from Kandahar, Helmand, Kunar and Ghazni, where they faced a lot of resistance. He is known as the "Conqueror of the North" among the Taliban.
Qari Fashiuddin is also the first Taliban leader to step foot into panjshir. He alongside his Taliban soldiers took control of Bazarak and thus took control of Panjshir province.
In 2013, Qari Fasihuddin was appointed as the Taliban's shadow governor and head of the military commission in Badakhshan. In the same year, he firstly appeared in a Taliban propaganda video about the security situation in Badakhshan. In 2015, the Afghan Ministry of Interior falsely claimed that Qari Fasihuddin has been killed with 40 of his men, but the claim turned out to be propaganda.
On September 16, 2021 Fasihuddin was quoted as saying that:
"Afghanistan would have a regular, disciplined and strong army in near future to defend and protect the country and consultations in this field continue," Fasihuddin said at a gathering in Kabul," adding members of the proposed army would be well-trained.
Qari Fasihuddin was also involved in the Balkhab uprising led by the Hazara leader Mehdi Mujahid.