A Prince stand in Afghanistan presidential election

Prince Ali Seraj as well as being the nephew of King Amanullah, is also the grandson of King Habibullah and a descendant of, amongst other kings of Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman – the ‘Iron Amir’ and Dost Mohammad.

His father, Sardar Abdul Ghafoor, was a younger brother of King Amanullah and 16 years old when he abdicated. His father then went on to work in the Ministry of Finance and the Diplomatic Service. Prince Ali’s mother was Lady Siddika Tarzi, a descendent of Ghulam Mahmood Tarzi, (the father of journalism of Afghanistan) and Rhamdel Khan of Kandahar who together with Dost Mohammad and Sultan Mohammad of Peshawar, formed the three main branches of the Mohammadzais line.

The Seraj part of Prince Ali’s name comes from the title given to King Habibullah - ‘Seraj -ul- Millat wa deen’ (Light of the Nation and Religion). Ali Seraj was much involved in Afghan politics before having to flee the country with his wife and two children under a Khalq-Parcham death warrant following the coup d’état and killing of President Daoud in 1978.

He has an American degree in agricultural economics, has lived 18 years in the USA, and 5 in Brazil, running a successful fibre optics business, before returning to Afghanistan in 2002. Since then he has been involved in mainly privately funded reconstruction projects such as schools and clinics. He also lectures regularly at the US Counter Insurgency School (COIN Academy), in Kabul.

As well as being the leader of the NCDTA and having been asked by them to run for President, he has also been asked to do this by a number of the more moderate Taliban leaders.
Because Prince Ali’s grandfather King Habibullah married 36 wives from different tribes, Ali Seraj has a blood link to most of the major tribes in Afghanistan. In addition because his paternal grandmother (one of the 36 wives) came from Badakhshan he has particularly strong ties to the northern reaches.