Former Afghan consul general killed in Kabul attack

PESHAWAR: Abdullah Waheed Poyan, the former Afghan consul general in the city, was among the 18 persons killed in the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul on Saturday night.

He served at Afghanistan’s consulate general until a couple of months ago. He was then transferred to Karachi to take charge as the consul general there. Abdullah Waheed Poyan had yet to formally resume his work and was visiting Kabul where he lost his life in the suicide bombing at the luxury Intercontinental Hotel located at Bagh-i-Bala. His secretary Hares Mohmand was also killed along with him in the attack that was subsequently claimed by the Afghan Taliban. Hares Mohmand had also served as the Afghan diplomat’s secretary in Peshawar.

Abdullah Waheed Poyan was a grandson of the late Mohammad Gul Khan Mohmand, a literary figure and a well-known Afghan politician who served in the past as Afghanistan’s home minister and also as governor of three provinces.

As the consul general in Peshawar, Abdullah Waheed Poyan established contacts with people from different walks of life and made every effort to improve relations with Pakistan. He was accessible to Afghan refugees and Pakistanis and attended public and literary events. He had lived in the US for a number of years, but his love for Afghanistan brought him back to his homeland.