Hekmatullah Azamy

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.

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)