Office of the D.C.M.

Mr. M. Ashraf Haidari is the Deputy Chief of Mission (Minister Counselor) of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to India. From June 2011 to July 2012, he served as the Deputy Assistant National Security Advisor of Afghanistan, providing the Office of the National Security Council with policy and oversight advice on a range of domestic and foreign policy issues relating to national security. From 2004 to 2011, Mr. Haidari served the Embassy of Afghanistan in the United States in various capacities including: Chargé d’Affaires; Deputy Chief of Mission and Political Counselor; Acting Defense Attaché; First Secretary for Political, Security & Development Affairs; and Director of Government and Media Relations. From 2001 to 2004, he worked as Assistant Vice President for Federal Relations and Assistant Development Director at Georgetown University. From 1992 to 1997, Mr. Haidari held various positions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP) in Afghanistan.

Mr. Haidari has consistently engaged in public diplomacy in order to maintain international focus on and support for the stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan. He has lectured on Afghanistan and regional security issues at many public and academic forums. Mr. Haidari is also an author, whose writings have appeared in The Hindu, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Washington Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe, The Baltimore Sun, Asia Times, Korea Times, The National, Diplomatic Courier, Diplomatic Traffic, The Washington Diplomat, EurasiaNet, Central Asia Newswire, and others. In addition, Mr. Haidari has discussed Afghanistan and regional affairs on international TV and radio shows, including CNN, Al Jazeera, BBC, VOA, CSPAN, NPR, Alhurra, and others.

Mr. Haidari is educated in the United States, Switzerland, and Afghanistan. He holds a Master of Arts in Security Studies (Concentration: International Security & Development) from the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service; and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations from Wabash College. During 2002-2003, Mr. Haidari was a Fellow in Foreign Service at the Georgetown University Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, and holds advanced certificates in International Affairs and Refugee & Humanitarian Emergencies from the University.

Mr. Haidari is the recipient of many public and academic awards, including: The Fredrick J. Urbaska Civic Service Award, National Association of Wabash Men (NAWM), Indiana, 2011; The Pedro Arrupe, S.J., International Peace Scholarship Award, Georgetown University , Washington, D.C., 2003; The Fellowship in Foreign Service Award; Georgetown University, Washington DC, 2002; The International Merit Scholarship Award, Wabash College, Indiana, 1997; and The F. Michael Cassel Award; Wabash College Political Science Department, Indiana, 1999. The life and achievements of Mr. Haidari have been publicly recognized and featured in the following publications: The Journal Review (December 2008), Indiana Daily Student (August 2007), The Washington Diplomat (January 2007), The Wabash Magazine (Fall 2005), The Georgetown University Office of Alumni & University Relations Newsletter (August 2002), The Wabash Magazine (Summer 2001), and The Bachelor (October 1998).

Mr. Haidari was born and grew up in Afghanistan, and shares a personal story that resonates with millions of other ordinary Afghans touched by decades of conflict. He experienced these hardships firsthand both under the Soviet occupation in 1980s and the Taliban rule in 1990s. Mr. Haidari is married and has one son.

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Official Engagements

Biography of Mr. M. Ashraf Haidari

DCM Haidari Discusses Development Aid Effectiveness at the Indian Social Institute

DCM Haidari Accompanies Energy & Water Minister Osmani on Site Visits

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