He was a member of the governing council of the Second East Turkestan Republic, a Soviet-backed administration founded in three northwestern districts of Xinjiang during the Ili Rebellion in November 1944.[4] Qasimi himself was not involved with the planning of the rebellion.[5] The Second ETR was initially led by Elihan Tore, who favored forming a conservative Islamic government.[6] Tore was placed under house arrest in the Soviet Union in 1946, under the orders of Stalin. Qasimi was a leader of the pro-Soviet East Turkistan Turkic People's National Liberation Committee (ETTPNLC).[6]