Jemal Abdul-Nasir Sediqi

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General Jemal Abdul-Nasir Sediqi welcomes U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 14, 2013.

General Jemal Abdul-Nasir Sediqi is a prominent Afghan official and longtime member of Afghanistan’s political establishment. He was Deputy Interior Minister and former head of the Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF), working closely with the United States Government and the NATO led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Sediqi was head of the APPF between 2010 and 2016, having entered public service from the corporate sector where he spearheaded a series of successful businesses in telecommunications, agriculture and information technology.

In 2012, Sediqi spearheaded efforts to end the “guns for hire” culture in Afghanistan, working with the US and other Western governments to end a culture that was conducive to militancy and terrorist attacks by establishing the Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF). While head of the APPC, Sediqi lead a 10,000 personnel organisation and pioneered security sector reform, ensuring the country made important strides in addressing growing levels of insecurity, enhancing accountability and maximizing security force effectiveness. An ardent advocate of reform and capacity building, during his tenure in office he standardized the execution of security services, ensuring it was underpinned by support for the rule of law and the will of the Afghan people.

Sediqi champions human rights, political reform and women’s rights in Afghanistan and has been a central figure in Afghanistan’s efforts to reform its police force. In 2013, he worked with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to launch a project that aimed to strengthen the capacity of the Afghanistan National Police Forces (ANP) and other law enforcement bodies to address cases of violence against women by establishing a systematic, institutionalised and multi-faceted approach to violence against women in Afghanistan. This included shifting attention to the capacity of the judiciary, including an effort to ensure the judicial process was not undermined and impeded by hardline conservative political and tribal factions as well as militant groups that often threaten or assassinate members of the judiciary.

Further collaboration with the international community saw Sediqi work closely with the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA). This has included collaboration with the United Nation’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women initiative to place a heavy emphasis on changing negative attitudes towards female personnel within the Afghan National Police (ANP) as well as reducing violence against policewomen. Female enrollment in the ANP is notably limited, where women make up less than 2% of serving officers and regularly face harassment. Despite coming under pressure and attack by hard-line conservative factions, hoping to change general attitudes toward women’s rights, Sediqi won plaudits for using this initiative as a springboard for far-reaching change in the rest of the country, asserting that “this will set an example for the general community about the importance of eliminating violence against women in the country.”

Sediqi’s tenure involved working closely with the United States government. Following high-level meetings in Kabul between Sediqi and United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, Sediqi traveled to Washington DC for further high-level talks with US government officials. Highlighting the urgency of continued American support, Sediqi thanked the US government and the American people for their continued dedication to Afghanistan’s future, warning that the country will suffer if the US pulls its forces out. Sediqi updated officials on Afghanistan’s push for stability and democratic reforms. At an invitation-only event at the Stimson Center, Sediqi was recognized for his contributions to a stable, prosperous and democratic Afghanistan, where he stressed Afghanistan’s importance to US geopolitical and national security interests.

References

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