Fleeing Afghanistan minister now delivers pizza in Germany

Syed Ahmad
Former Afghanistan Minister Syed Ahmad Shah Saadat spotted working as food delivery guy in Germany. PhotoJosaMania/eha_news Twitter.

Syed Ahmad Shah Saadat, ex-Afghanistan information minister, who resigned and left the country last year, arrived in Germany in December and now works as a pizza delivery guy.

Pictures of Saadat roaming around Leipzig on his bicycle and delivering food door-to-door has gone viral.

Afghanistan’s former Communications and IT Minister Syed Ahmad Shah Saadat, is now taken refuge in Leipzig, Germany, and delivers pizzas riding a bicycle on the streets of, Germany report said.

A year ago, he had left Afghanistan following differences with the country’s then President Ashraf Ghani, along with the fear of the Taliban. At present, he works as a driver for a pizza delivery service after settling in Leipzig.

Pictures of Saadat roaming around the city on his bicycle and delivering food door-to-door went viral online on Wednesday. Moreover, a German journalist claimed to have spotted him on the streets while he was delivering pizzas.

“At present, I am leading a very simple life. I feel safe in Germany. I am happy to be with my family in Leipzig. I want to save money and do a German course and study further,” he said. He added, “I applied for many jobs but no response came. My dream is to work in a German telecom company.”

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Saadat also holds two masters degrees in communications and software engineering from Oxford University, The Hindustan Times reported. He even worked for Aramco as well as the Saudi Telecom Company.

Saadat had joined the Ashraf Ghani-led Afghan government as a cabinet minister in 2018, and had served for two years before resigning in 2020. He then reportedly arrived in Germany in December last year.

Soon after moving, he ran out of money and was forced to take up a profession to make ends meet. Since then, he has been delivering pizzas.

When asked if he doesn’t feel belittled to have served as a minister in the Afghan cabinet and then turning into a pizza delivery guy, Sadat said he believes in dignity of labour and there is nothing wrong in it.