Karzai was born in 1961 in the village of Karz in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. He is the son of Abdul Ahad Karzai and brother of Hamid Karzai, Mahmud Karzai and Qayum Karzai. He attended Habibia High School in Kabul but was not able to finish his studies due to the Soviet–Afghan War. He travelled to neighbouring Pakistan and then immigrated to the United States. Wali Karzai managed an Afghan restaurant in Chicago that was owned by his family. Ahmad Wali returned to Pakistan in the late 1980s to help his father, Abdul Ahad.