Ministry of Defense (Afghanistan)

Ministry of Defense
Pashto: د افغانستان ملی دفاع وزارت
Department overview
Jurisdiction Afghanistan
Headquarters Kabul
Minister responsible
  • Abdullah Habibi
Website www.mod.gov.af
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Afghanistan
Foreign relations

The Afghan Ministry of Defense (Pashto: د افغانستان ملی دفاع وزارت) is an organ of the Central Government of Afghanistan, overseeing the Afghan Armed Forces. Its headquarters is located in Kabul.[1]

The defense minister is nominated by the President of Afghanistan and the Parliament makes the final approval. As of May 2015, Mohammed Masoom Stanekzai has been serving as the acting defense minister. Dawlat Waziri is his spokesman.[2]

Zahir Azimi is the Major General and spokesman of the Ministry of Defense. From late 2001 to 2004, Mohammed Fahim served as the Defense Minister but was not reappointed, after being accused of illegally occupying land in Kabul. During the same period, Abdul Rahim Wardak was the Deputy Minister. In December 2004, President Hamid Karzai appointed Wardak as the new Defense Minister. He resigned in August 2012.

One of the functions of the Defense Ministry is the continuance of disarming insurgent groups through programmes such as the Afghan New Beginnings Programme. These militant groups coalesced from warlords and former army personnel after the collapse of the Najibullah government in 1992.

List of Defense Ministers


No. Name Took Office Left Office Political Party
* Ghulam Haidar Rasuli 1977 April 1978 Republican
* Abdul Qadir May 1978 August 1978 PDPA-Parcham
* Mohammad Aslam Watanjar 30 March 1979 July 1979 PDPA-Khalq
* Hafizullah Amin July 1979 27 December 1979 PDPA-Khalq
* Mohammed Rafie 28 December 1980 1982 PDPA-Parcham
* Abdul Qadir 1982 September 1984 PDPA-Parcham
* Nazar Mohammad September 1984 1986 PDPA-Khalq
* Mohammed Rafie December 1986 May 1988 PDPA-Parcham
* Shahnawaz Tanai May 1988 March 1990 PDPA-Khalq
* Mohammad Aslam Watanjar March 1990 April 1992 PDPA-Khalq
* Ahmad Shah Massoud April 1992 9 September 2001 Jamiat-e Islami
* Mohammed Fahim 9 September 2001 23 December 2004 Jamiat-e Islami
* Abdul Rahim Wardak 23 December 2004 7 August 2012 Mahaz-e-Milli-ye Islami
* Enayatullah Nazari (acting) 8 August 2012 15 September 2012 Jamiat-e Islami
* Bismillah Khan Mohammadi 15 September 2012 24 May 2015 Jamiat-e Islami
* Mohammed Masoom Stanekzai (acting) 24 May 2015 20 June 2016 Jamiat-e Islami
* Abdullah Habibi 20 June 2016 Present
*

References

  1. "Afghanistan gets 'mini-Pentagon' as troops struggle". Associated Press. June 12, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  2. "Afghanistan Works to Determine Fate of Missing Soldiers". Voice of America (VOA). November 28, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2016.


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