| Tasneem Qureishi | |
|---|---|
| Homeland character | |
 Nimrat Kaur as Tasneem Qureishi (2020) | |
| First appearance |
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| Last appearance |
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| Created by | |
| Portrayed by | Nimrat Kaur |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | |
| Relatives | Bunran "Bunny" Latif (stepfather) |
Tasneem Qureishi is a fictional character on the American television series Homeland on Showtime, created by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon. Portrayed by Indian actress Nimrat Kaur in season four (2014) and season eight (2020), Tasneem is an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent in Pakistan, and later the organization's Director-General.
Known for her starring role in the 2013 film The Lunchbox, Kaur was cast as the season four nemesis of American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent Carrie Mathison, the character played by series star Claire Danes. The role of Tasneem was Kaur's first time portraying a villain. She was surprised to be asked back for the show's final season, since the story had moved away from Pakistan after season four.
Tasneem is introduced as a devious ISI agent who will do anything to advance the interests of the ISI and her secret Taliban allies, which may conflict with those of the CIA. She is presented as a villain, but showrunner Gansa explained that though Tasneem is ruthless, she has understandable motives and is only serving her country. In the final season, she has risen to leader of the ISI, a position which historically has always been held by a man in the real world. Tasneem comes into direct conflict with Carrie's mentor, US National Security Advisor Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin), but becomes his reluctant ally as the interests of Pakistan and the US increasingly align.
In season four, Tasneem blackmails the husband of the US ambassador to supply her with secret intelligence. Having already orchestrated the assassination of the CIA chief of station in Pakistan, Tasneem orders Saul's kidnapping by the Taliban, which prevents the new chief of station, Carrie, from capturing or killing Taliban commander Haissam Haqqani (Numan Acar). Learning that Carrie has bipolar disorder, Tasneem tampers with her medication, hoping that Carrie's inevitable mental breakdown will get her out of Islamabad. Later, a convoy transporting Carrie and Saul is attacked, and Tasneem intentionally delays the dispatch of Pakistani military assistance. Meanwhile, Tasneem has passed along to Haqqani her discovery of a hidden tunnel into the US embassy, which he uses to invade the embassy.
In season eight, Tasneem is now Director-General of the ISI, and Saul is the US National Security Advisor. Critical of US foreign policy, Tasneem is not supportive of Saul's efforts to broker peace between Afghanistan and the Taliban. Saul arranges a secret meeting in Pakistan with Haqqani, now leader of the Taliban, but Tasneem learns of it. She attempts to assassinate Haqqani and replace him with his son Jalal (Elham Ehsas), but Haqqani survives. The deaths of the US president and Afghan president in a helicopter crash lead to the arrest of Haqqani, who Saul does not believe is responsible. Tasneem agrees to help Saul stall the trial, but they fail and Haqqani is executed. An empowered Jalal reinvigorates the Taliban and becomes a problem for Tasneem, who has lost the power to control him. Seeking to ease escalating tensions between the US and Pakistan, Tasneem provides Saul with intel to distract the trigger-happy new US president away from a potential invasion of Pakistan.
Tasneem has been repeatedly called the character viewers "love to hate", and Kaur has been praised for her performance.
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