Hekmat Karzai is the founder and Director of the Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies in Kabul, Afghanistan. He is a frequent commentator on Afghanistan and has served as Head of the Political Department at the Afghan embassy in the U.S.
 
Prior to his current position, he served as a RMS Fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, Singapore, where his primary focus was on South and Central Asia. He conducted research in development, security, and conflict and is considered an authority on Afghanistan. From 2004 to 2005, he served as a fellow at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where he conducted research on terrorism, militant Islam, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Al Qaeda movement.
 
 Mr. Hekmat Karzai was appointed as the Head of the Political Department to the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C. in May of 2002. In the position, he oversaw daily political and congressional affairs, serving as a direct link to the diplomatic and political community to liaise with the U.S. Congress and executive branch on policies, security, funding, and other vital issues pertaining to Afghanistan.
 
 Mr. Karzai has appeared on BBC World Service TV, CNN, CNN International, Fox News Channel and C-Span’s Washington Journal, among other media appearances.
 
 Mr. Karzai’s Masters Degree dissertation titled ‘Strengthening Security in Contemporary Afghanistan: Coping with the Taliban’ was published by the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. His study on suicide terrorism in Afghanistan, How to Curb Rising Suicide Terrorism in Afghanistan, was the first study on the subject and was published by the Christian Science Monitor and the Straits Times in Singapore.  He has written extensively on Afghanistan, security, terrorism, insurgency, and governance.
 
 Mr. Karzai was born in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He is fluent in English, Pashto, Dari, and Urdu.