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 Mohammad
Yunis Qanuni is currently the Speaker of the Lower House (Wolesi Jirga) in
Afghanistan's National Assembly. He was elected Speaker after receiving 122
votes; his closest challenger Abdul Rasul Sayaf received 117 votes. Qanuni is
also the founder and head of the New Afghanistan political party (Hezb-e-Afghanistan
Naween) formed in late 2004. He was also a co-founder of the National Movement
of Afghanistan (Hizb-e Nahzat-e Melli-ye Afghanistan). During the Mujahideen
government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani, Qanuni served in various high level
government positions. When the Taliban came on the scene, Qanuni worked closely
with Ahmad Shah Masood to put together the United National and Islamic Front for
the Salvation of Afghanistan (UNIFSA). UNIFSA was composed of various political
parties/groups brought together in their common struggle against Taliban rule in
Afghanistan. It primarily consisted of Jamiat-e Islami, Hezbe-e Wahdat,
Harakat-i-Islami, Haji Qadeer's eastern Shura, and Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi
Afghanistan. In the western media, it is incorrectly referred to as the Northern
Alliance.
After the Taliban fell from power, Qanuni served as the Interior Minister in
Afghanistan's Interim Administration headed by Chairman Hamid Karzai. The
administration was put together in Bonn, Germany in late 2001. When
Afghanistan's Transitional Government was formed in 2002, Hamid Karzai chose
Qanuni to be his Education Minister. Close to the presidential elections in late
2004, Qanuni took his own path and declared himself a presidential candidate,
challenging Hamid Karzai. Qanuni lost to Karzai, however, it was reported that
when Karzai was putting together his new cabinet, Qanuni was offered the
Ministry of Defense. Qanuni rejected the cabinet position, and instead decided
to create his own political party (New Afghanistan Party) to challenge Karzai
and allies in future elections.
In March 31, 2005, Qanuni announced the formation of a political alliance named
Jabahai Tafahim Millie or National Understanding Front. According to Qanuni, the
goal of the alliance was not war against the government, but to establish a
legal body to monitor and serve as a check on the government as a political
bloc. The most important aim for the alliance, he added, was to try to change
the strong presidential system enshrined in the Afghan Constitution into a
parliamentary system in order to create a more representative governing system.
"A government without a parliament or opposition will drift towards
dictatorship," The New York Times" quoted Qanuni as saying on March 31, 2005.
The formation of the alliance was welcomed by President Hamid Karzai. Karzai
stated said that he appreciated Qanuni's initiative to establish an opposition
front to the government that is within the democratic framework and he regarded
the move as "an important step towards strengthening democracy" in Afghanistan.
Karzai wished Qanuni and his colleagues success.
When Qanuni was elected Speaker of the lower house, he resigned as the head of
the National Understanding Front. Today, the National Understanding Front is no
longer active. However, on March 13, 2007, the formation of a new political
grouping called the United Front of Afghanistan was announced in Kabul. The
goals of this group are very similar to goals Qanuni's National Understanding
Front had put forth. The new United Front also wants to amend Afghanistan's
constitution in order to transform the political system from a presidential
system into to a parliamentary system. The group also wants provincial governors
elected rather than selected by the president. Mohammad Qasim Fahim, the former
defense minister, Ismael Khan, the former governor of Herat and Mustafa Zahir, a
grandson of king Zahir Shah are all members. Burhanuddin Rabbani was chosen as
its leader. Qanuni has also joined this group, but has taken on a much quieter
role.
Mohammad Yunis Qanuni was born in 1958 in the Panjsher Valley. He is married and
has 6 kids (3 daughters and 3 sons).
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