Afghanistan’s Tribal choice for President, Prince Abdul Ali Seraj

      Approximately four hundred people representing various tribal groups of Afghanistan came in full force to give their support to the presidential candidacy of charismatic Prince Abdul Ali Seraj.  

       Prince Ali Seraj is a well known figure in Afghanistan not only because he is a direct descendant of nine kings but also because of his successful businesses in the country prior to the Russian invasion.      

     Prince Ali Seraj who is a grandson of King Habibullah and nephew of King Amamullah had a great life of leisure in Afghanistan until the communists came, killed President Daud Khan, tortured the citizens and put the family on house arrest. 
Prince Ali remembers in vivid detail how he escaped by taking a bus with a bunch of hippies disguising himself with his long beard and baggy clothes and sat in the middle of a group at the back of the bus smoking hashies. They played their guitars and drums around him and covered him until he got into Pakistan.   

     Thirty years after that great escape, Prince Ali came back to Afghanistan with no political ambitions only passion for the country he had left behind.  He saw the devastation of the ones beautiful country.  He saw the poverty and the sunken faces of his people who cried when they saw him.  Prince Ali who had successful businesses in the United States and Brazil decided to stay with the goal in mind to help in the reconstruction of his country.  For seven years since he came back to Kabul, he had visited various provinces in the country to see in which area he could be of assistance.        

     What he got was the cry for help from Tribal leaders of these provinces with simple requests…peace for Afghanistan, safety of their daughters and food on the table.   It wasn’t just a clamor from a few but hundreds of tribal leaders. These visits in the countryside had a strong effect on Prince Ali Seraj that he has decided to surrender to the wishes of his people.  And so the National Coalition for Dialogue for the Tribes of Afghanistan (NCDTA) was formed.  This is a grassroots trans-tribal movement which the tribes themselves established.  They did this because they were tired of the lies, corruption, lawlessness, poverty and hunger, which have been the result of nine different governments since the downfall of monarchy and the invasion of the communists. It is a movement of the people for the people and by the people.  To head the NCDTA, the tribes decided to look to a respected family with a two hundred year history, and one that did not shed their blood or steal their money.  They chose the family of King Amanullah, and selected his nephew, Prince Abdul Ali Seraj, as their leader and candidate for the Presidency of Afghanistan.  

      Mistakes were made in the past when Afghanistan chose unsuitable leaders.  The country cannot afford to make the same mistake again.  Prince Ali Seraj’s long years of history behind him gives him a credible capacity to engage with the tribes.  Prince Ali Seraj is a trusted and well liked personality in Afghanistan and since tribes support personalities rather than parties, the certainty of tribal cooperation and support is to be expected.  A leader who commands tribal support would allow tribally supported defense planning get into action at once and in effect without delay.   

     During this interview Prince Ali said, “A spirit of self-sacrifice for the national interests was necessary if the country were to succeed in finding peace in Afghanistan.” The government is in the iron grasp of corruption, its treasury is barren, its resources are wasted, its civil service is slothful and indifferent among other things.  Afghanistan is in crisis.  It is in its last stage of malignancy.  But this nation can be healed.  It is my articles of faith and Allah has willed that this faith can be translated into deeds.”