Mohammad Aslam Watanjar

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Mohammad Aslam Watanjar (* 1946 in Zurmula , Paktia ; † November 24, 2000 in Odessa , Ukraine ) was an Afghan politician and general .

Life

Watanjar played an important role in the 1978 Saur Revolution . He was later a member of the Politburo of the People's Democratic Republic of Afghanistan . He was an ethnic Pashtun from the Ghilzai tribe from Zurmula in Paktia . After graduating from the Military Academy in Kabul , he became a tank officer. During the Saur Revolution, Colonel Watanjar was commander in chief of the ground forces. Watanjar was also responsible for the radio announcement over Kabul, in the Pashto language, announcing that a Revolutionary Council of the Armed Forces had been established, headed by Colonel Abdul Qadir Dagarwal . After the coup , Watanjar became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Communications. He later served in succession as Minister of the Interior and Defense.

The uprising in Herat also ushered in a new round in the internal power struggle of the Afghan regime. To counter allegations of poor performance by the military leadership, Nur Muhammad Taraki finally appointed Watanjar as defense minister.

Watanjar's move to take over the Department of Defense was a proven use of Amine's vulnerability in the aftermath of addressing the army 's deficiencies. But in July 1979 he was released under Hafizullah Amin because he was said to have been a sympathizer of Taraki.

Aslam Watanjar teamed up with Asadullah Sarwari, Gulabzoy and other Khalqis to overthrow Hafizullah Amin. Besides Sarwari, who is from Ghazni Province, the others were from Paktia. They influenced the army, which consisted of a considerable number of people from Paktia.

Until the break with Amin, Sarwari was head of the Intelligence Department (AGSA) while the other ministers. At first glance, they were close friends of Amin's, but later turned against him.

After the Soviet invasion in 1979 he became a member of the Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council. He was appointed Minister of Communications. In June 1981 he was accepted into the Politburo.

Later he worked successively as Minister of the Interior and Minister of Defense.

He also headed the official Afghan delegation to Baikonur , in his position as communications minister and member of the ruling Politburo.

From March 1990 to April 1992 he was again Minister of Defense. Fighting between the two rival factions, the Parcham and Khalq, began when Ahmad Shah Massoud's forces quickly gained the upper hand. After the fall of Kabul and the collapse of President Najibullah's government, he left the country.

He died on 24 November 2000 in Odessa , Ukraine to cancer .