The chairman of the Afghanistan High Peace Council (HPC) Sayed Ahmad Gailani passed away in a Kabul hospital on Saturday evening after a short illness. 

An official from his office said his body will be moved to his home tonight. No details were given about his illness. 

Gailani was born in 1932 and was the leader (Pir) of the Qadiriyyah Sufi order in Afghanistan, and the founder of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan (Mahaz-i-Milli Islami ye Afghanistan), a party that was associated with the Mujahideen who led the war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Gailani's family are descended from Abdul-Qadir Gailani, the founder of the Qadiriyyah.

His father, Sayed Hassan Gailani, was born in Baghdad before moving to Afghanistan in 1905 in order to establish the Qadiriyyah order in the country.

Amir Habibullah Khan gave him land in Kabul and eastern Nangarhar Province.

Sayed Ahmad Gailani was born in the Surkh-Rōd district of eastern Nangarhar province, where he remains a significant figure.

He studied at Abu Hanifa College in Kabul, before graduating at the Faculty of Theology of Kabul University in 1960.

In 1952, he reinforced his family's close ties to the Afghan royal family by marrying Adela, a granddaughter of Amir Habibullah.

Prior to the war, Gailani invested more time in his business career than in the leadership of his Sufi tariqah, often travelling to France and England. Through his connection with the monarchy, he was able to obtain the Peugeot dealership in Kabul.