title: Habibia High School
text: # Habibia High School
  
  Habibia High School (Dari: لیسه عالی حبیبیه) is a school in Kabul, Afghanistan which has educated many of the former and current Afghan elite, including former Presidents Ashraf Ghani and Hamid Karzai, as well as musician Ahmad Zahir. It was founded by King Habibullah Khan in 1903 and is considered one of the oldest Schools In Afghanistan. It is situated in the south of the city in a district known as Karteh Seh.
  
  Over 18,000 students are studying in three different shifts. The undergraduate enrollment is approximately 2000 students.
  
  ## History
  
  It suffered severe damage during the civil war of the 1990s between the different mujahideen factions who had ousted the communist government of Mohammad Najibullah in 1992.
  
  The Indian government funded the rebuilding of the school in 2003, it committed $5 million for the restoration project. The restoration was completed in two years and the school was reopened in August 2005, by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
  
  In November 2021, a powerful magnetic roadside bomb exploded near the school.
  
  ## Notable alumni
  
  * Ashraf Ghani, former president of Afghanistan
  * Hamid Karzai, former president of Afghanistan
  * Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal, former Prime Minister of Afghanistan
  * Mohammad Gul Khan Momand, former Home Minister of Afghanistan
  * Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, former President of Afghanistan
  * Mohammad Najibullah, former President of Afghanistan
  * Dr. Sayed Makhdoom Raheen, former Minister of Information and Culture
  * Mohammed Zahir Shah, former king of Afghanistan
  * Abdul Rahim Wardak, former Defence Minister of Afghanistan
  * Ahmad Zahir, legendary Afghan musician
  * Dr. Hafiz Sahar, former President and Chief Editor, Daily Eslah and Kabul University professor of Journalism
  * Wasef Bakhtari, prominent Afghan poet, writer, and literary figure
  * Mohammad Ghous Bashiri, Afghan politician
  
  ## Notable faculty
  
  * Faiz Mohammad Katib Hazara, historian
  * Richard N. Frye, Aga Khan Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at Harvard University
  