h.azamy#caps.af (Replace ‘#’ with ‘@’ Before sending E-mail)

Deputy Director of The Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies (CAPS)

Education

2017- Renmin University of China

Master in International Relations (understudy)

 

2015 – Kardan University in Kabul, Afghanistan        

Bachelor of Science, Economics

Thesis – “Transformation of Taliban: From Ideology and Vengeance to Franchise  – Defines money as a driving force for militants association. It explains the drug-terror nexus in the Afghan context and studies major financial sources of Taliban, which not only fund the group’s activities but also convince non-ideological villagers to support their ruthless campaign. This thesis, however, confirms the existence of ideologically motivated and insurgent driven by vengeance but argues that most of the Taliban particularly rank and file are motivated by financial incentives they receive from continued violence. It draws out of 60 interviews conducted with high-ranking government officials, former, active and imprisoned Taliban and tribal elders in Southern Helmand and Western Herat provinces.

2011 – Mia Omar High School in Nangarhar

High School Baccalaureate Certificate

Biography:

Mr Hekmatullah Azamy serves as Acting Headof the Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies (CAPS). His practice areas include research on socio-political and security issues in Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Mr Azamy has been exclusively focusing on South and Central Asia and how Islamic State (ISIS) could be a threat to the broader region and Afghanistan. He has written extensively on local and transnational groups operating in and from Afghanistan. He has published articles discussing crime-terror nexus, Taliban relationships with key state and non-state supporters in the region and the group’s ties with other militant groups particularly ISIS, East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM/TIP), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), al Qaeda in the Indian sub-continent (AQIS) and other transnational Islamists. Mr Azamy keeps abreast with the development in peace process with the Taliban.

Mr Azamy led, authored or contributed to the following assessments:
2018 Islamic State in Eastern Afghanistan and The Group Expansion to The North (under progress)
2017 Growing Turkic Militancy in Afghanistan: From Anti-Radicalization to Ultra-Radicalization
2017 Afghan Peace Process and China’s Role From An Afghan Perspective
2017 Uighurs: From Nationalism to Islamism/ ETIM to TIP
2017 Assessment of Internal Political Oppositions Towards National Unity Government (NUG)
2017 Taliban Spring Offensive 2017 Strategy: An Insider Account
2013-2018

Profile of major local and transnational militant groups including the Afghan Taliban, Hizb-e-Islami Gulbadin (HiG), the Haqqani and Mansur Networks, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and lately Islamic State Khurasan (ISK).

2017 2017: A year of Peace or Violence in Afghanistan?
2016 Taliban Post-Mansur
2016 China-Iran-Pakistan Partnership and Disparities in Afghanistan
2015 Insurgency In Afghanistan: Emergence of ISIS and Growing Splits Within the Taliban
2014 Militant Groups in Afghanistan: Mapping Alliances
2015 Militancy In FATA: Indigenous Militants Going Transnational
2013 Insider Threat: A Rising Security Challenge
2013 Assessment on crisis of confidence among Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF)
2012-13 Provincial assessments of Kandahar, Helmand, Ghazni, Paktia, Badghis, Farah and Herat
2012 Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme (APRP): Challenges and Prospects

In addition to his research work at CAPS, Mr Azamy spearheaded CAPS’s youth project “Youth Peace Movement and Empowerment Centre” in Helmand province which was aimed at capacity building of youth through education and skills development.

Prior to joining CAPS, Mr. Azamy worked as Research and Peace-building Officer at the Tribal Liaison Office (TLO) and conducted research on tribal, conflict resolution and other issues. He was born and raised in Kandahar and has traveled extensively to different provinces of Afghanistan, equipping him with an in-depth geographical and demographical knowledge of the country. He is fluent in Pashto, Dari and English. He also has good understanding of Urdu/Hindi.

In addition to his research work at CAPS, Mr Azamy is member of several other think tanks including the Central Asia Institute for Strategic Studies (CAISS) based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Publications/Presentations(link on titles)

•    Afghanistan: An Asset or Liability for Central Asian Neighbors?. Central Asia Institute for Strategic Studies (CAISS). July 2017

•    Iran’s Budding Alliance with the Taliban. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 30 March 2017.

•    Challenges and Prospects for Daesh in Afghanistan and Its Relations with the Taliban. Chapter in special issue of Panorama – Insights into Asian and European Affairs journal on “Countering Daesh Extremism – European and Asian Responses” jointly published by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

•    Divide and Rule: Pakistan’s New Covert Taliban Approach. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 17 October 2015

•    Economic Impediments to a Taliban Peace Process. The Economics of Peace and Security Journal (EPSJ), Vol 10, No 02 (October 2015) – co-authored with James Weir

•    The Looming Coup Within The Taliban. RFE/RL. 25 July 2015.

•    Will the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) Trade Taliban for ISIS?Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis (CTTA), 30-35. V. 07. Issue 06. (June 2015) Publisher: International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore

•    The Future of the Taliban. Foreign Policy. 23 June 2015.

•    Taliban Outreach to Iran. The Jamestown Foundation.  12 June 2015.

•    Can Pakistan Abandon the Taliban?. The Diplomat. 05 June 2015

•    Pakistan Risks Losing Afghan Leader If It Fails To Deliver. RFE/RL Gandhara. 21 May 2015

•    Islamic State and Jihadi Realignments in Khorasan. The Diplomat. 08 May 2015. (co-authored with James Weir)

•    Afghan Taliban Scrambling With The Rise of Islamic State. RFE/RL Gandhara. 30 April 2015

•    It’s Complicated: The Relationship Between Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Taliban. Foreign Policy. 02 March 2015

•    Afghanistan’s “Transformation Decade” Depends on the Taliban’s Foot Soldiers. Foreign Policy. 02 March 2015 (co-authored with James Weir).

•    Afghanistan-India-Pakistan Trilateral Cooperation: Islamist Proxies a Challenge. Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies (CAPS). 20 October 2014

•    Taliban’s Transformation from Ideology to Franchise. Foreign Policy. 17 October 2014. (co-authored with James Weir)

•    Operation Zarb-e-Azb: Can it ensure stability in Afghanistan-Pakistan region? CAPS. Commentary. 07 July 2014

•    Roads to Peace in Afghanistan – Fighting for Peace. CAPS. 01 Oct 2013.