Hamid Karzai spouse Zeenat Karzai
Post-presidency
After the 2017 Nangarhar airstrike, Karzai condemned his successor, President Ashraf Ghani, labeling him a traitor.Following the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Taliban on 17 August 2021, the leader of the Taliban-affiliated Hezb-e-Islami party Gulbuddin Hekmatyar met with Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation and former chief executive, in Doha, seeking to form an interim government with the Taliban.In February 2022, Karzai condemned the Biden administration's decision to unfreeze $7 billion of Da Afghanistan Bank's assets and to divide the money between humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Karzai labelled the decision as an "atrocity" and, while saying that Afghans sympathized with the victims of 9/11, the money belonged to the Afghan people, who had also suffered from the attacks' consequences.Karzai has been critical of the Taliban government's failure to fulfill promises regarding women's rights, and has asked the Taliban to reopen schools for girls. In an interview with CNN, he has also decried the demand for women to wear a burqa and cover their faces.Personal life and tribal lineage
In 1999, Hamid Karzai married Zeenat Quraishi, a gynaecologist by profession who was working as a doctor with Afghan refugees living in Pakistan. They have a son, Mirwais, who was born in January 2007, a daughter, Malalai, born in 2012 and another daughter, Howsi, born in March 2014 in Gurgaon, India. He became a father once again at the age of 58 when another daughter was born in September 2016 in Apollo Hospital, New Delhi. According to a declaration of his assets by an anti-graft body, Karzai earns $525 monthly and has less than $20,000 in bank accounts. Karzai does not own any land or property.Karzai has six brothers, including Mahmood Karzai and Qayum Karzai, as well as Ahmed Wali Karzai, deceased, who was the representative for the southern Afghanistan region. Qayum is also the founder of the Afghans for a Civil Society. Karzai has one sister, Fauzia Karzai. The family owns and operates several Afghan restaurants on the East Coast of the United States and in Chicago.
In initial biographical news reporting, there was confusion regarding his clan lineage; it was written that his paternal lineage derived from the Sadduzai clan. This confusion might have arisen from sources stating he was chosen as the tribal chief of the Popalzai. Traditionally, the Popalzai tribe has been led by members of the Sadozais. The first King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Durrani, was the leader of the Sadozais, and the Sadozai lineage continued to rule Afghanistan until 1826 when the Barakzais ascended to the throne.
Karzai is believed to be from the Shamizai subtribe of the Popalzais. His grandfather, Khair Muhammad Karzai, was a head of the Popalzai tribe from Kandahar who relocated to Kabul and ran the business of a guest house. This allowed Karzai's father Abdul Ahad, to gain a foothold in the royal family, and subsequently, the parliament. These actions and upwards movement within the Popalzai tribal system, led to the Karzai family furnishing a viable Shamizai clan alternative to Sadozai leadership in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion when the Sadozai clan failed to provide a tribal leader. He is often seen wearing a Karakul hat, something that has been worn by many Afghan kings in the past.Following the Fall of Kabul in 2021, Karzai decided to remain in Kabul with his daughters and he appealed to the Taliban to respect his life and that of his family as well as the civilians in Afghanistan. While he met with Hekmatyar to discuss the formation of a future Afghan government, it is unclear whether Karzai will serve any role in such.
On 27 August 2021, prominent activist Fatima Gailani criticized him whereas the United States urged the Taliban to include him in the new government along Abdullah Abdullah.On 1 September 2021, sources close to the Taliban said that it was "unlikely" for Karzai to be part of the new government, with a spokesperson for the group saying that the group was "ready to recruit them", referring also to Abdullah Abdullah but added that the Taliban did not want "old horses" in apparent reference to Karzai.
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