Ministry of Defense (Afghanistan)

Ministry of Defense

Pashto: د ملي دفاع وزارت Dari: وزارت دفاع ملی
Flag of the Ministry of Defense of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Department overview
Jurisdiction	Government of Afghanistan
Headquarters	Kabul 34°31′26″N69°11′11″E / 34.523938°N 69.186437°E / 34.523938; 69.186437
Minister responsible	Mullah Yaqoob
Deputy Minister responsible	Abdul Qayyum Zakir
Department executives	Muhammad Ali Akhund, Director of Intelligence [1] Qari Lutfullah "Habibi", Spokesperson [2]
Child Department	General Directorate of Intelligence
Website	Official website Official YouTube channel

The Ministry of Defense ^[a] is the cabinet ministry of Afghanistan responsible for overseeing the Afghan Armed Forces (currently referred to as the Islamic Emirate Armed Forces). The ministry is located in Kabul. ^[3]

The Democratic Republic period

The Ministry of Defense emblem from 1987 to 1992

From the 30th of April until 9 August 1978, Abdul Qadir succeeded the slain Ghulam Haidar Rasuli as Defense Minister of the DRA, responsible for the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, until being succeeded by General Aslam Watanjar. In 1990 forces loyal to Minister of Defense Shahnawaz Tanai and Hezbi Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar attempted a fail coup against then President Najibullah. His forces were thwarted by General Aslam Watanjar who was rewarded the post of Minister of Defence. Watanjar would be the last Minister of Defense of the DRA/ROA. ^{[4] [5] [6]} The government collapsed in 1992.

Additionally, the Ministry of Defense also had their own annual publication titled “The Military Magazine” (Pashto : د اردو مجله, Dari : مجله ارتش) which began in 1967, under the Kingdom of Afghanistan. This was continued under the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. ^[7]

The Islamic Republic period

Former logo from 2018.

During the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021), the defense minister was nominated by the President of Afghanistan and the National Assembly made the final approval.

One of the functions of the Defense Ministry during that period was the continuance of disarming insurgent groups, through programmes such as the Afghan New Beginnings Programme (which included the rehabilitation and reintegration of child soldiers). These militant groups coalesced from warlords and former army personnel after the collapse of the Najibullah government in 1992. ^[8]

List of ministers

Prior to 1929, Afghanistan had no ministers of defense but rather ministers of war. ^[9]

Ministers of War

• Mohammad Nadir, May 1919 to January 1922 ^[9]
• Mohammad Hashim, January 1922 to September 1922 ^[9]
• Mohammad Nadir, September 1922 to April 1924 ^[9]
• Muhammad Wali, April 1924 to June 1924 ^[9]
• Abdul Aziz Barakzai, June 1924 to January 1929 ^[9]

Ministers of Defense

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political affiliation		Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Sayyid Husayn (?–1929)	January 1929	March 1929	2 months		Saqqawist
2		Purdil Khan (?–1930)	March 1929	October 1929	7 months		Saqqawist
3		Shah Mahmud Khan (1890–1959)	1929	1947	17–18 years		Independent	[9]
–		Amanul Mulk (?–c. 2011) [b]	c. 1944	c. 1946	1–2 years		Unknown
4		Mohammad Daoud Khan (1909–1978)	1947	1948	0–1 years		Independent	[9]
5		Gen. Muhammad Umar (1898–1964)	1948	1952	3–4 years		Unknown	[9]
6		Mohammed Arif (1907–1983)	1952	1958	5–6 years		Unknown	[9]
(4)		Mohammad Daoud Khan (1909–1978)	1958	1963	4–5 years		Independent	[9]
7		Khan Mohammad (1911–2006)	1963	1973	9–10 years		Unknown	[9]
(4)		Mohammad Daoud Khan (1909–1978)	1973	1973	0 years		Independent	[9]
8		Abdul Karim Mustaghni (1911–2004)	1973	1977	3–4 years		Republican (from 1974)
9		Ghulam Haidar Rasuli (1919–1978)	7 November 1977	28 April 1978	172 days		Republican
10		Abdul Qadir (1944–2014)	27 April 1978	17 August 1978	112 days		PDPA–Parcham
11		Nur Muhammad Taraki (1917–1979)	17 August 1978	1 April 1979	227 days		PDPA–Khalq	[10]
12		Mohammad Aslam Watanjar (1946–2000)	1 April 1979	28 July 1979	118 days		PDPA–Khalq
13		Hafizullah Amin (1929–1979)	28 July 1979	27 December 1979 [c]	152 days		PDPA
14		Mohammed Rafie (1946–2025)	28 December 1979	1982	2–3 years		PDPA
(10)		Abdul Qadir (1944–2014)	1982	September 1984	1–2 years		PDPA–Parcham
15		Nazar Mohammad (1935–1998)	4 December 1984	4 December 1986	2 years		PDPA–Khalq
(14)		Mohammed Rafie (1946–2025)	December 1986	May 1988	1 year, 5 months		PDPA
16		Shahnawaz Tanai (1950–2022)	May 1988	March 1990 [d]	1 year, 10 months		PDPA–Khalq
(12)		Mohammad Aslam Watanjar (1946–2000)	March 1990	April 1992	2 years, 1 month		PDPA–Khalq
–		Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953–2001)	28 April 1992	28 June 1992	61 days		Jamiat-e Islami
17			28 June 1992	9 September 2001	9 years, 73 days
18		Obaidullah Akhund (1968–2010)	April 1997	9 September 2001	4 years, 5 months		Taliban
19		Mohammed Fahim (1957–2014)	9 September 2001	23 December 2004	3 years, 105 days		Jamiat-e Islami
20		Abdul Rahim Wardak (born 1945)	23 December 2004	7 August 2012	7 years, 228 days		Mahaz-e-Milli-ye Islami
–		Enayatullah Nazari (born 1954) acting	8 August 2012	15 September 2012	38 days		Jamiat-e Islami
21		Bismillah Khan Mohammadi (born 1961)	15 September 2012	24 May 2015	2 years, 251 days		Jamiat-e Islami
–		Mohammed Masoom Stanekzai (born 1958) acting	24 May 2015	20 June 2016	1 year, 27 days		Independent (Military)
22		Abdullah Habibi (born 1952)	20 June 2016	24 April 2017	308 days		Independent (Military)
23		Tariq Shah Bahramee (born 1967)	24 April 2017	23 December 2018	1 year, 243 days		Independent (Military)
–		Asadullah Khalid (born 1970)	23 December 2018	21 November 2020	1 year, 334 days		Ittehad-e Islami
24			21 November 2020	19 March 2021	118 days
–		Yasin Zia acting	19 March 2021	19 June 2021	92 days		Independent (Military)
(21)		Bismillah Khan Mohammadi (born 1961)	19 June 2021	15 August 2021	57 days		Jamiat-e Islami	[12]
–		Abdul Qayyum Zakir (born 1973) acting	24 August 2021	7 September 2021	14 days		Taliban	[13]
–		Mullah Yaqoob (born 1990)	7 September 2021	15 August 2025	4 years, 114 days		Taliban	[14] [15] [16]
25			15 August 2025	Incumbent

Notes

1. • Pashto: د دفاع ملي وزارت, romanized: Də difā' milli wizārat [d̪əd̪i.pɑ/di.fɑ(ʔ)mi(l).liwi.zɑ.'ɾat̪]
   • Dari: وزارت دفاع ملی, romanized: Wizārat-i Difā'-i Millī, [wɪ.zɑː.ɾát̪‿ɪd̪ɪ.fɑ́ː(ʔ)‿ɪmɪl.líː]
2. Rebel defence minister in the Eastern Province, during the 1944–47 tribal revolts.
3. Assassinated by Soviet special forces during the Operation Storm-333. ^[11]
4. Dismissed following the 1990 Afghan coup attempt.

References

1. "د اسلامي امارت په تشکیلاتو کې نوي کسان پر دندو وګومارل شول". باختر خبری آژانس. 4 October 2021.
2. "سخنگوی وزارت دفاع ملی معرفی شد | وزارت دفاع ملی". mod.gov.af.
3. "Afghanistan gets 'mini-Pentagon' as troops struggle". Associated Press. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
4. Burns, John F. (10 May 1990). "Kabul Journal; in Power Still, Afghan Can Thank His 4-Star Aide". The New York Times.
5. Crossette, Barbara (21 March 1990). "Failed Kabul Coup Changes Opinions". The New York Times.
6. "Archives". Los Angeles Times .
7. Ketabton.com. د اردو مجله - 11 - 12 - 1360.
8. Bhatia, Michael; Sedra, Mark (2008). Afghanistan, Arms and Conflict: Armed groups, disarmament, and security in a postwar society. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 122–123. ISBN   978-0-415-47734-5.
9. Adamec, Ludwig (1975). Historical and Political Who's Who of Afghanistan by Ludwig W. Adamec. ISBN   3201009210.
10. Bradsher, Harry (1999). Afghan Communism and Soviet Intervention. Oxford University Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN   0195790170.
11. "How Soviet troops stormed Kabul palace". BBC. 27 December 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
12. "Afghan president replaces security ministers amid Taliban advance". 19 June 2021.
13. "Taliban appoints former Guantanamo detainee as acting defense minister, Al Jazeera says". Reuters. 24 August 2021. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
14. "Taliban announce new government for Afghanistan". BBC News . 7 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
15. "Taliban Leader Removes 'Acting' Designation From All Government Posts". Afghanistan International . 15 August 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
16. Malikzada, Natiq (19 August 2025). "Taliban Officials Are No Longer 'Acting'". The Diplomat . Retrieved 10 October 2025.

External links

• Official website