Mohammed Khalid Roashan (born 21 October 1923) was an Afghan politician and journalist.
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Life
editRoashan was born on 21 October 1923.[1] He graduated from the Habibia High School and the Kabul University College of Letters.[1] He was a member of the Ariana Encyclopedia Department between 1943 and 1944.[1] Roashan worked as an editorial board member of the daily newspaper Anis between 1947 and 1948.[1]
He went on to pursue studies in the United States, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska in 1950 and a Master of Arts degree in journalism from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1953.[1][2] His thesis at UCLA was titled The Anglo-Indian oil dispute and the American press.[2] In 1952 he was a member of the Foreign Publications Section at the Afghan Department of Press and Information.[1]
Having returned to Afghanistan, Roashan served as editor of Anis between 1953 and 1956.[1] Between 1956 and 1957 he served as Director-General of the Department of Press and Information.[1] He was then sent to London, where he worked as an information officer at the Royal Afghan Embassy to the United Kingdom between 1957 and 1960.[1][3] In 1960 he was named President of the Bakhtar News Agency.[1] Between 1961 and 1963 he served as Vice President of the Department of Press and Information.[1] He also gave classes in Journalism at Kabul University.[1] He edited English-language publications such as Afghanistan-Ariana issued from Kabul and Afghanistan News issued from London.[1][4]
Roashan completed military service in 1964.[1] In 1964 he helped draft the Afghan constitution.[5] The following year he was appointed Deputy Minister of Press and Information.[1] He helped draft legislation allowing liberalization of the Afghan press in 1965.[5]
Roashan was appointed as President of the Department of Tribal Affairs (a cabinet minister position) on 1 December 1965, placed in charge of the entity dealing with health, education and social development issues among the tribes in southern Afghanistan.[1][6] He served in this role as a member of the Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal cabinet until 12 October 1967.[7][8][9]
Roashan was appointed Deputy Minister of Information and Culture on 18 May 1968.[1] He remained in this post as of 1973, but his tenure in the national government ended with the fall of the monarchy.[10][11][5]
Roashan left Afghanistan in 1979.[5] He eventually returned to the United States, and settled down in Kirkland, Washington.[5] As of 1988, Roashan was the president of the Afghan-American Cultural Association in Seattle.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Roshan Becomes Deputy Information Minister. Kabul Times, 18 May 1968. pp. 1, 4
- ^ a b Register of the University of California, Volume 2. D.W. Gelwicks, State printer, 1953. p. 59
- ^ The Foreign Office List and Diplomatic and Consular Year Book for 1959. Harrison and Sons, 1959. p. 516
- ^ Edwards, Holly (2015). "Glancing Blows, Crossing Boundaries: From Local to Global in the Company of Afghan Women". Muqarnas Online. 32 (1): 233–251. doi:10.1163/22118993-00321P12. JSTOR 44657319.
- ^ a b c d e Afghan exile's view from Kirkland. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 18 April 2002
- ^ Maiwandwal Fills All Cabinet Vacancies. Kabul Times, 2 December 1965. p. 1
- ^ Louis Dupree. Afghanistan. Princeton University Press, 2014. p. 691
- ^ Abdul Ghaffar Farahi. Afghanistan During Democracy & Republic, 1963–1978. Area Study Centre (Russia, China & Central Asia), University of Peshawar, 2005. 70
- ^ Ziayee Has High Hopes For Pakhtia Development. Kabul Times, 7 September 1966. p. 1
- ^ UN Signs Agreement To Set Up Kushanid Research Centre Here. Kabul Times, 28 August 1968. p. 1
- ^ Kronika, Volume 22, Issues 1–6. Wydawn. Dokumentacja Prasowa RSW "Prasa.", 1973. p. 105
- ^ Ethnic Forum, Volume 8, Issue 1. 1988. p. 92