Zala Zazai, a former Afghan Interior Ministry officer, declared her support for the Afghan National Resistance Front, led by Ahmad Massoud
MOSCOW, March 4 - Sangar, Talib Aliyev. She comes from one of the three main branches of the Pashtun tribes, represented by the leaders of the Haqqani Network.
Zala Zazai wrote on her Twitter page:
“I, Zala Zazai, a former officer of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, today (March 26) officially declare my support and membership in the Afghan National Resistance Front. I would like to thank Mr. Ahmad Massoud, who did me the honor to be next to the heroes of the motherland. We are all together against the same enemy."
Zala Zazai was born in 1998 and is a Pashtun from the Zazai tribe in Khost, a province in southern Afghanistan. The Zazai tribe, like the Zadran, Afridi, Masud, Mohmand, etc. tribes, is part of the Karlani Pashtun group. Pashtuns are divided into three major branches - Durani, Ghilzai, and Karlani.
Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani Network, was from the Zadran tribe. His son, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is now the interior minister and, by some accounts, the most powerful figure in the Taliban regime.
In June 2020, Zala Zazai was appointed Director of the Organized Crime Department of Khust Province. She was the first woman to hold such an important and dangerous position in one of Afghanistan's most troubled provinces.
On March 8 this year, on International Women's Day, she received the "Woman of the Year - 2022" award from the nongovernment organization Republic of Women.
After the fall of Kabul, Zala Zazai moved to Warsaw, Poland, and now lives there.
Meanwhile, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan welcomed Zala Zazai's statement, saying that the Front respects women's rights and its doors are open to anyone who shares its values.
This is the first time that a female officer has declared support and membership in the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, which has a civilized approach to women's rights compared to the Taliban. In a recent announcement, Front leader Ahmad Massoud called on former Afghan soldiers and officers to work to restore the country's military potential.
*Organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.