Qahar Asi


Qahar Asi was a notable modern poet and agriculturist in Afghanistan.
He was born in Malima in Panjshir province.
He is considered to be Afghanistan’s most famous modern poet who has practiced both "New" and "Classic" poetry styles.
Asi died in Kabul when a rocket hit his home during the 90s civil war. Like lots of other Afghan poets and writers of his time, Asi showed his concerns about the political and social situation of Afghanistan. His poetry is, sometimes, strongly influenced by the then socio-political developments in Afghanistan. His explicit expression of the situations caused him personal problems with the then regimes in Kabul. His book Az Jazeera e Khoon is a good example where he expresses his concerns about the situation of his country during the rule of the Mujaheedin and the civil war.

Asi promised to publish a poetry book each year and was successful in keeping his promise. He also wrote many poems with romantic and emotional contents and worked with Afghan singer Farhad Darya.

Personal life

Asi was born in the small village of Malima in the now Panjshir Province. He studied agriculture at Kabul University. Asi was married to Meetra and had a daughter named Mahasti. Like many other Afghans of his time, Asi had to flee to one of the neighboring countries to save himself and his family from the destruction of the civil war. He chose Iran and arrived there in the spring of 1994. In his short stay in Mashhad, Asi worked intensively with Afghan Poets and published a book and many articles. He then had to go back to Afghanistan after being denied a residence permit in Iran. Shortly after returning to Kabul, he was killed by a rocket which hit his home.