Kamal Nasir Hamyar

Kamal Nasir Hamyar, 40, is a native of the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan. He formerly worked for a NATO-funded radio network in Afghanistan called “Sedaye Azadi” or “sound of freedom.” The name was changed to Radio “Bayan” or “expression” because the original was deemed too similar to Radio Azadi, a network run by the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Kamal later became an advisor to the Afghan government of President Ashraf Ghani, including at the State Ministry of Peace that was tasked with negotiating with the Taliban before its takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.