[2] During the 2001 insurgency, in which ethnic Albanian militants attacked security forces, Xhaferi was at first a senior officer in the ARM, commanding troops in the Tetovo barracks.

[3] Several days later he deserted and joined the National Liberation Army (NLA), an Albanian guerrilla group fighting against the Republic of Macedonia, and became its commander of the 116th Brigade, earning the pseudonym Komandant Forina after his birthplace.

[2] Xhaferi was first elected to the Macedonian parliament in 2002 for the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), which was formed that year by members of the dissolved NLA.

He blocked the draft at commission level by "reading poetry, citing foreign literature and reports on Macedonia, mumbling or simply remaining silent, waiting for the time to pass".

The appointment of Xhaferi triggered protests by Macedonian[5][6] (in particular retired general Stojanče Angelov of the pro-veteran Dignity opposition party)[2] and Albanian citizens.