US President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday appointed economic development expert Sameera Fazili as the Deputy Director of the US National Economic Council (NEC). Fazili hails from Kashmir and will advise Biden on economic policies. Her appointment in the White House has sparked off celebrations among her extended family in Srinagar.
Fazili’s aunt Mehmooda Fazili (70) is busy flipping through international news channels at her home in Srinagar’s Hawal area. “Since the news broke, I am continuously watching CNN to get her glimpse. I did talk to her mother yesterday. They are elated. But Sami (Sameera) is very busy. This is a great moment for the family. She has been extraordinary. She quit medical school to pursue her passion,” she said.
Born to a doctor couple in Kashmir, Muhammad Yusuf Fazili and Rafiqa Fazili from the old city of Gojwara, Fazili started her career as a clinical lecturer at Yale Law School’s community and economic development clinic.
“She did join (former President) Barack Obama’s regime and she was very popular. On demitting his office, Obama organised a separate farewell party for Fazili and her family,” said her cousin Shuja Durrani who is a businessman. He said that her appointment is “Kashmir’s proud moment”.
According to the family, Fazili served as a senior adviser at the NEC and at the Treasury Department of the White House during the Obama administration.
She later worked at Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta as the Director of Engagement for the Community and Economic Development.
Fazili last visited Kashmir in 2006-07. “She just immersed herself in the Kashmir University’s Iqbal Library and the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences for a research paper and kept meeting all relatives to connect with her roots. She loves Kashmir and Kashmiris,” recalled Rabiya Durrani, who also remembers teaching Sameera her traditional Kashmiri recipes.
Durrani said that Fazili stands out for her “Simplicity and connecting with the downtrodden. One can gauge her strong connection with Kashmir from the fact that Sameera named her daughter Zoon,” Durani recalled. Zoon, is a popular name of the tragic queen of Kashmir, Habba Khatoon, consort of the last Kashmiri king Yousuf Shah Chak who was deposed by the Mughals in a military coup.
Once Biden formally takes over on January 20, Fazili will be part of the top team shaping up the post-COVID economic policies of the US.
