Abdul’s brave bid

By Melissa Meehan
A DANDENONG businessman has put his hand up for one of the most dangerous political jobs in the world.
Afghanistan will go to the polls to elect a president for the second time since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 and Abdul Khaliq Fazal thinks he is the right man for the job.
He was a minister for the interim-government in 2001 and worked as an adviser for current president Hamid Karzai during the last election.
“I have been preparing for this for over a year,” the father of six said. “It is not something I have rushed in to.”
Mr Fazal has been the leader of the Initiative for National Unity Party of Afghanistan for the past two years and believes that his experience in both Afghani and Australian politics gives him the edge he will need to topple President Karzai.
He will be fighting six former ministers for the top job and will make the move with his wife and his three youngest children next month to start his campaign.
The move will mean a very different lifestyle from what he and his family have become accustomed to.
“Since I have announced that I am running for presidency my life is in danger,” he said. “It has been since I entered the government in 2001. I have a bodyguard with me day and night.”
But Mr Fazal said his family was used to life in Afghanistan.
“They visit me frequently when I am there,” he said. “There will be no surprises.”
He said he hoped that Afghanistan would one day return to how he remembered it from his youth.
“I used to be able to walk home safely in the darkness at 3am without being approached by anyone,” Mr Fazal said. “Now no one can do that.”
Mr Fazal has been the president of the Afghan Association Australia since he established it in 1977.
“I have been living in Australia since 1972 and feel as though I have the support of the Afghan community both here and abroad,” Mr Fazal said. “I have been living between both countries for the last two years.”
He said he felt the time was right to stand for president because he wanted to bring change in every aspect to Afghanistan.
“I will bring real changes,” he said.
Mr Fazal said he hoped to make sweeping reforms to the government, introducing a Prime Minister and hoping this would strengthen political parties in the country.
“These people will be running the country in the future and if we want to build strong policy we need to make changes to the constitution,” he said.
Another policy Mr Fazal says is important is the security of Afghanistan.
“This is the most fundamental time for the region and the international community,” Mr Fazal said.
If elected, he would sit down with the armed opposition to work out a solution and start building a relationship with the Afghan people and international forces.
“They are there for the good of Afghanistan, to rid our country of terrorism,” he said. “So we need to sit down and work out a way to stop the opposition from killing the international forces and for the international forces to stop killing innocent people.” He said that he believed that international forces staying in Afghanistan would help it become a stable country.
Afghanis will go to the polls on 20 August and Mr Fazal believes he has enough support to make the changes he believes are necessary to build a successful country.