Ustad Muhammad Akbari

Ustad Muhammad Akbari known as Ustad Akbari, is a former Afghan jihadist commander in Afghanistan, who has held various political affiliations during periods of conflict in Afghanistan. He was the representative of Bamyan during the fifteenth and sixteenth sessions of Afghanistan's parliament, and a member of the House of Elders from 2017 onward.

Early life Muhammad Akbari was born in 1945 in Afghanistan in Waras District of Bamyan Province. Akbari studied primary education in Islamic schools in Bamyan, Afghanistan from 1961 to 1971, later studying more in Iraq. In 1976 he earned the equivalent of a bachelor's degree in religious studies from a university in Iraq, later acquiring a Ph.D-level education. During this period of the first Taliban government, he was considered the senior-most Shia Hazara to support the Taliban.

Following the American Invasion of Afghanistan, Ustad Akbari continued to represent his home region of Bamyan, no longer being affiliated with the Taliban. He was elected to lead Bamyan in the fifteenth and sixteenth sessions of the Afghan parliament, before becoming a member of the House of Elders in 2017. He later met with Minister of Information and Culture Khairullah Khairkhwa and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdul Qahar Balkhi to discuss the situation of Afghan Shias.