Khushnood Nabizada

Khushnood Nabizada (born March 27, 1987) is an Afghan journalist, diplomat, peace campaigner, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and owner of Khaama Press, an Afghanistan-based news agency that reports specific political issues of the Afghanistan region.[1][2]

Khushnood Nabizada
خوشنود نبی‌زاده
Born
Khushnood Nabizada

(1987-03-27) March 27, 1987
Shibar District, Bamyan Province, Afghanistan
OccupationFounder / owner of Khaama Press
Website

Early years and education

Nabizada was born on 27 March 1987 in the Shibar District of Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. He is an ethnic Hazara and follower of Shia Islam.[3][4]

Around the age of eight, his family moved to Puli Khumri in Baghlan Province. When Nabizada was in 5th grade of school, he along with his entire family migrated to Rawalpindi, Pakistan, due to Taliban rule. He returned to Afghanistan in 2003, during the presidency of Hamid Karzai.[4]

Nabizada graduated from Habibia High School in 2006. He obtained a bachelor's degree in business administration from Kardan University in 2012. Later he obtained a master's degree in International Relation from Kateb University in Kabul.[5]

Career

In October 2010, Nabizada founded The Khaama Press News Agency, one of the largest online news services in Afghanistan at the time. Khaama Press publishes in English, Persian and Pashto languages.[6]

In 2011 he founded an IT company under the name of Barg Sabz that provides web designing, web hosting and domain registration services for the individuals, companies, and organizations operating in Afghanistan.[7]

Nabizada worked as Senior Business Executive at Insurance Corporation of Afghanistan from 2007 to early 2014. In the meantime, he managed to supervise and preside operations of Khaama Press and Barg Sabz Web Designing firm.[8] He had become a member of the National United Party of Afghanistan.[4]

Khaama Press remains as a popular news agencies.[9] Khaama's web portal was recognized as the most visited news website in 2020.[10]

Nabizada joined the Afghanistan government in 2016 and assumed office as chief of staff to the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing on May 29, 2016. The recruitment process for this key position is approved by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.[11]

Nabizada was appointed as chief of staff to the State Ministry for Peace on September 7, 2020. The recruitment process for this key position was approved by the then-President Ashraf Ghani.[12]

The Khaama Press News Agency
The Khaama Press News Agency

Why did Nabizada decide to invest and establish Khaama Press, he answers: Afghanistan entered into a new era with the assistance of the international community in 2001 after the fall of ‘Taliban’, an extremist religious group that led the country for 5 years. Since then, ‘Afghanistan’ received a large number of development funds from the International society, but most of these grants were not spent ‘transparent’ as a result of poor monitoring and control. Media and press agencies are always a great help and a powerful tool to keep eyes on the executive and implementing agencies, promoting ‘transparency’. I loved to be the ‘throat’ of my people and ‘share’ their pains, failures, success and developments by writing. Therefore, I established Khaama Press back in October 2010 to help the journalism and freedom of speech in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has been in the midst of civil war and violence for more than 40 years, in the absence of media and ‘freedom of speech, has much to say, therefore, independent news agencies such as ‘Khaama Press’ was needed to report on security, society, business and political issues to provide awareness and assist the international partner in their decision making with providing them the accurate and on-time information.[13]

The Canada Now
The Canada Now

In March 2020, Nabizada and his friend and former colleague Ahmad Shah Ghani Zada established a news portal for US & Canada under the name of The Canada Now. The agency's operation was interrupted for almost a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed in May 2021. The online news portal covers World, US & Canada, Business, Politics, Entertainment, Sports and Immigration.[14] The Canada Now publishes news and reports on its web portal, social media accounts including Twitter (@TheCanadaNow) and Facebook (The Canada Now).[15][16]

Escaping bomb blast

Nabizada survived a bomb blast on February 1, 2021. The incident happened in PD10, Kabul, while he was on the way to work.[17] Several national and international agencies, including Afghan and NATO officials, have condemned the attack.[18]

Immigrating to the United States

In August 2021, during Operation Allies Refuge, Nabizada and his family all escaped in American military planes from Afghanistan to Wisconsin in the United States.[19] They later moved to Virginia. Nabizada and his wife Razia have two daughters (Artisa and Armita) and one son (Arash).[4] He advocates for freedom of speech and human rights in Afghanistan.[20]

Quote

Emigration/Immigration is never a fantasy, but a compulsion to escape death.

— Khushnood Nabizada

The quote has been used for the first time by Nabizada in his life story published by Richmond Times-Dispatch in January 2022. He has said it when he wanted to express his feelings about how hard it was for him to leave everything behind and flee from his homeland Afghanistan in August 2021.[4]

References
  1. Intro about Khaama Press
  2. Rezahi, Nizamuddin (June 21, 2023). "Forcefully Displacing, Relocating Ethnic Groups Should be Stopped in Afghanistan: CSTO". Khaama Press. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  3. "'We are alive, but we are not yet living' — Afghan refugee who made it to Wisconsin". Wisconsin State Journal. February 1, 2022. Retrieved 2023-06-22. Our family is Ismaili Muslim, a minority group making up less than 5% of the population in our country. We have always faced discrimination for being different, and also for being of Hazara ethnicity. Kayan, where we were heading, was the cradle of Ismaili forces led by Sayed Mansoor Naderi, the leader of Afghan Ismailis loyal to His Highness the Aga Khan, who was regarded as an intermediary and peacemaker between different Mujahideen groups back then.
  4. "My earliest memories involve escaping the Taliban. In August, I fled again, bringing my family to Virginia". Richmond Times-Dispatch. January 29, 2022.
  5. "More about Khushnood Nabizada's life" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-02.
  6. "CCTV report on Khushnood Nabizada".
  7. "Khushnood Nabizada, President and Barg Sabz Web Designing Company".
  8. "About his service at ICA".
  9. "About Khaama Press".
  10. "About Khaama Press Ranking". Archived from the original on 2021-11-28. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  11. "Assuming office as Chief of Staff". Archived from the original on 2017-08-13. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  12. "Assuming office as Chief of Staff". Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  13. "About Khaama Press". Khaama. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  14. "About the Canada Now".
  15. "Twitter Username".
  16. "The Canada Now Facebook". Facebook.
  17. "Tolo covered the life attack on Khushnood Nabizada". TOLOnews. February 1, 2021.
  18. "TChargé d'Affaires Ross Wilson also condemned the attack on Khushnood Nabizada".
  19. Meek, Andy (August 22, 2021). "Here's What Two Journalists Told Me, In Real Time, About Their Escape From Afghanistan". Forbes.
  20. Interview with Khushnood about freedom of speech in Afghanistan with Ekurd Daily
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