Bismillah Khan Mohammadi
This article needs to be updated.(August 2021) |
Bismillah Khan Mohammadi | |
---|---|
Mohammad Hanif Atmar | |
Succeeded by | Mujtaba Patang |
Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army | |
In office 8 March 2002 – 6 January 2010 | |
President | Hamid Karzai |
Succeeded by | Sher Mohammad Karimi |
Personal details | |
Born | 1961 (age 62–63) War in Afghanistan
United States invasion of Afghanistan Panjshir conflict |
Bismillah Khan Mohammadi (
Early years and career
Bismillah Khan Mohammadi was born in 1961 in the
When the Taliban gained control over large parts of Afghanistan in 1996 establishing their Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Bismillah Khan served as Deputy Minister of Defense of the anti-Taliban and still recognized Islamic State of Afghanistan. He was a senior commander in the anti-Taliban resistance, the United Front (Northern Alliance), led by Ahmad Shah Massoud. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent fall of the Taliban regime through United Front ground troops and the U.S. Air Force, Bismillah Khan was appointed commander of Kabul's police force and became a member of the Kabul Security Commission. During that period the security situation in Kabul was better than in other parts of Afghanistan.[4]
Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army
In 2002, Bismillah Khan became
Interior Minister
This biographical article is written encyclopedic . (November 2012) |
This poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Bismillah Khan Mohammadi" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2021) |
In June 2010, Bismillah Khan was transferred from his position as Army Chief of Staff to the post of Interior Minister by President Hamid Karzai.[6] As Interior Minister, Mohammadi loudly deplored ethnic fractiousness within the Afghan security forces, stressing national unity and Islamic ethics in the Afghan National Police.
Mohammadi also said he would appoint police leadership positions based on merit, after as army chief of staff, he was able to improve the army's capabilities by championing meritocracy.
One advantage for appointing Mohammadi as the Minister of Interior is the hope of mending the rifts within the Afghan National Army that opened or widened as a result of the U.S. government's plan to begin withdrawing forces in July 2011. Expecting the eruption of a civil war after the American withdrawal, officers have been gravitating towards ethnic groupings and powerful generals, with Mohammadi and the Pashtu Defense Minister Wardak at the head of the two largest cliques. The departure of Mohammadi from the Ministry of Defense leaves no one who can rival Wardak in stature, which could mean a weakening of centrifugal forces.
One of Mohammadi's strategies is to push greater authority down to local police commanders. When Mohammadi was the Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army, he enforced the decentralization process within an institution heavily influenced by senior officers who had been trained in the centralized model.
As the Minister of the Interior, Mohammadi stressed the need to curb the corruption that has corroded the government and the people's trust in it. Mohammadi has already begun taking some of the actions essential to the reduction of corruption. He is, for example, keeping tabs on the movements of Ministry of Interior officials, and has fired several police chiefs for corruption.
Minister of Defense
Despite the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021, Mohammadi still claimed the title of Minister of Defense and was able to publicly call for the arrest former President Ashraf Ghani, who he accused of "selling away our motherland," on 18 August 2021.[7][1]
Awards
Bismillah Khan Mohammadi received the Sayed
References
- ^ a b "Afghan Defence Minister urges Interpol to arrest Ghani for treason". Asian News International. 2021-08-18.
- ^ "An anti-Taliban front forming in Panjshir? Ex top spy Saleh, son of 'Lion of Panjshir' meet at citadel". The Week. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ "Afghan Vice President Saleh Declares Himself Caretaker President; Reaches Out To Leaders for Support". News18. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ Moyar, Mark. [1] Orbis Operations – Research Report: Afghanistan’s New Minister of Interior: A Potential Game Changer. 16 July 2010.
- ^ Davis, Anthony. Interview: General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, Chief of General Staff, Afghan National Army. Jane's Defence News. 18 January 2008.
- ^ Trofimov, Yaroslav (2010-06-26). "Karzai Nominates New Ministers". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- WION. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "Who is who in Afghanistan?". www.afghan-bios.info. Retrieved 2021-08-20.