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Bismillah Khan (Afghanistan)
Encyclopedia
Bismillah Khan Mohammadi (born: 1961, Panjshir Province
), often known simply as Bismillah Khan, is the Interior Minister of Afghanistan. Among his duties, he is responsible for the securement of the international borders of Afghanistan, as well as maintaining law and order within the country by the Afghan National Police
. He previously served as Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army
.
of Afghanistan
. An ethnic Tajik, he is the son of Ghausuddin of Panjshir Valley
. He has graduated from 14th grade in Abu Hanifa Seminary then enrolled in Kabul Military University in 1995. Mohammadi was a former PDPA
Parcham
member, but after the Russian Agreement in 1978 he aligned with mujahideen
commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Before the fall of the Taliban government
in 2001, Bismillah Khan served as Deputy Minister of Defense of the Northern Alliance
, under the administration of Ahmad Shah Massoud and later Mohammed Fahim
. After the fall of Kabul to the Northern Alliance in November 2001, he was appointed commander Kabul's police force and a member of the Kabul Security Commission. During that period the security situation in Kabul was better than in other parts of Afghanistan.
, a post he held until 2010. On 6 June 2010 the Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar resigned.
As the Interior Minister, Mohammadi has loudly deplored ethnic fractiousness within the Afghan security forces, and has called on Afghanistan's ethinic groups to come together in the interest of the country and Islam. By stressing national unity and Islamic ethics in the Afghan National Police, he may be able to get officers of different identities to work together, discourage them from pilfering supplies, and convince them to prevent their men from robbing and beating civilians, as he was at times able to do in the Afghan National Army.
Mohammadi is committed to base police leadership appointments upon merit. The challenging tasks to prevent politics, ethnicity, tribalism, cronyism, and nepotism from influencing appointments will take perseverance and patience by Mohammadi. When Mohammadi was the army chief of staff, he was able to achieve substantial improvements in the army’s capabilities by championing meritocracy. With the police, he will need to redouble his efforts, for Karzai and other political figures have intruded into appointments more often with the police than the army.
Mohammadi’s ties to the army also make him uniquely qualified to increase cooperation between the police and the army in the field. Such cooperation is essential, above all because most police units are not adequately prepared to deal with sizable groups of armed insurgents on their own.
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 of the Soviet army during the 1980s.
A decentralized command requires a wide range to regulate due to the fact that some commanders lack the abilities and must be identified for help or removal. Upper-echelon commanders must get out of their headquarters and visit the field commanders, a practice alien to some senior Afghan officers. Fortunately, Mohammadi was well known for circulating the battlefield as an army commander, and has already implemented his regular process of making unannounced inspection trips to police stations at all hours of the day and night. Mohammadi undoubtedly will expect other senior commanders to do the same.
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.
If Mohammadi truly is serious about stopping corruption, he will soon find himself prosecuting people close to the Karzai family for complicity in protection rackets, fraudulent governmental contracting, drug trafficking, and the like. No prior Interior Minister has been able to bring these individuals to justice in significant numbers, because Karzai has obstructed investigations and prosecutions. But Mohammadi is a stronger personality than any of his predecessors, and he represents a stronger constituency.
By 26 June 2010 Afghan President
Hamid Karzai
nominated Khan as Atmar's successor as Interior Minister.
Amanullah Khan
and Ahmad Shah Baba
awards for his efforts in bolstering the Afghan National Army
.
Panjshir Province
Panjshir is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Containing the Panjshir Valley, in April 2004 it was created from parts of Parwan Province, which now lies along its southwestern border. Panjshir's population is about 139,000 and covers an area of 3,610 square kilometers...
), often known simply as Bismillah Khan, is the Interior Minister of Afghanistan. Among his duties, he is responsible for the securement of the international borders of Afghanistan, as well as maintaining law and order within the country by the Afghan National Police
Afghan National Police
The Afghan National Police - ANP - is the primary national police force in Afghanistan. It serves as a single law enforcement agency all across the country. The Afghan police force was first created with the establishment of the Afghan nation in the early 18th century...
. He previously served as Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
.
Early years and early careers
Mohammadi was born in 1961 in Panjshir ProvincePanjshir Province
Panjshir is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Containing the Panjshir Valley, in April 2004 it was created from parts of Parwan Province, which now lies along its southwestern border. Panjshir's population is about 139,000 and covers an area of 3,610 square kilometers...
of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. An ethnic Tajik, he is the son of Ghausuddin of Panjshir Valley
Panjshir Valley
The Panjshir Province is a valley in north-central Afghanistan, 150 km north of Kabul, near the Hindu Kush mountain range. Located in the Panjshir Province it is divided by the Panjshir River...
. He has graduated from 14th grade in Abu Hanifa Seminary then enrolled in Kabul Military University in 1995. Mohammadi was a former PDPA
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was a communist party established on the 1 January 1965. While a minority, the party helped former president of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, to overthrow his cousin, Mohammed Zahir Shah, and established Daoud's Republic of Afghanistan...
Parcham
Parcham
Parcham was the name of one of the factions of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. The Parcham faction seized power in the country after toppling Hafizullah Amin....
member, but after the Russian Agreement in 1978 he aligned with mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Before the fall of the Taliban government
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was founded in 1996 when the Taliban began their rule of Afghanistan and ended with their fall from power in 2001...
in 2001, Bismillah Khan served as Deputy Minister of Defense of the Northern Alliance
Northern Alliance
The Afghan Northern Alliance is a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996.Northern Alliance may also refer to:*Northern Alliance , a Canadian white supremacist group...
, under the administration of Ahmad Shah Massoud and later Mohammed Fahim
Mohammed Fahim
Mohammad Qasim Fahim is an Afghan military commander, politician and the First Vice President since November 2009. He was the Defense Minister of the Afghan Transitional Administration, beginning in 2002 and also served as Vice President from June 2002 to December 2004...
. After the fall of Kabul to the Northern Alliance in November 2001, he was appointed commander Kabul's police force and a member of the Kabul Security Commission. During that period the security situation in Kabul was better than in other parts of Afghanistan.
Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army
In 2002 he became Chief of Staff of the Afghan National ArmyAfghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
, a post he held until 2010. On 6 June 2010 the Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar resigned.
As the Interior Minister, Mohammadi has loudly deplored ethnic fractiousness within the Afghan security forces, and has called on Afghanistan's ethinic groups to come together in the interest of the country and Islam. By stressing national unity and Islamic ethics in the Afghan National Police, he may be able to get officers of different identities to work together, discourage them from pilfering supplies, and convince them to prevent their men from robbing and beating civilians, as he was at times able to do in the Afghan National Army.
Mohammadi is committed to base police leadership appointments upon merit. The challenging tasks to prevent politics, ethnicity, tribalism, cronyism, and nepotism from influencing appointments will take perseverance and patience by Mohammadi. When Mohammadi was the army chief of staff, he was able to achieve substantial improvements in the army’s capabilities by championing meritocracy. With the police, he will need to redouble his efforts, for Karzai and other political figures have intruded into appointments more often with the police than the army.
Mohammadi’s ties to the army also make him uniquely qualified to increase cooperation between the police and the army in the field. Such cooperation is essential, above all because most police units are not adequately prepared to deal with sizable groups of armed insurgents on their own.
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 of the Soviet army during the 1980s.
A decentralized command requires a wide range to regulate due to the fact that some commanders lack the abilities and must be identified for help or removal. Upper-echelon commanders must get out of their headquarters and visit the field commanders, a practice alien to some senior Afghan officers. Fortunately, Mohammadi was well known for circulating the battlefield as an army commander, and has already implemented his regular process of making unannounced inspection trips to police stations at all hours of the day and night. Mohammadi undoubtedly will expect other senior commanders to do the same.
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.
If Mohammadi truly is serious about stopping corruption, he will soon find himself prosecuting people close to the Karzai family for complicity in protection rackets, fraudulent governmental contracting, drug trafficking, and the like. No prior Interior Minister has been able to bring these individuals to justice in significant numbers, because Karzai has obstructed investigations and prosecutions. But Mohammadi is a stronger personality than any of his predecessors, and he represents a stronger constituency.
By 26 June 2010 Afghan President
President of Afghanistan
Afghanistan has only been a republic between 1973 and 1992 and from 2001 onwards. Before 1973, it was a monarchy that was governed by a variety of kings, emirs or shahs...
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
nominated Khan as Atmar's successor as Interior Minister.
Awards
Bismillah Khan Mohammadi has received the Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani, GhaziGhazi
Ghazi is a title given to Muslim warriors or champions. It may be used out of respect or officially. Many of the Ottoman Sultans and Caliphs wore this title officially , along with Khan and Caesar...
Amanullah Khan
Amanullah Khan
Amanullah Khan was the King of the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Amir and after 1926 as Shah. He led Afghanistan to independence over its foreign affairs from the United Kingdom, and his rule was marked by dramatic political and social change...
and Ahmad Shah Baba
Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shah Durrani , also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī and born as Ahmad Khān, was the founder of the Durrani Empire in 1747 and is regarded by many to be the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan.Ahmad Khan enlisted as a young soldier in the military of the Afsharid kingdom and quickly rose...
awards for his efforts in bolstering the Afghan National Army
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
.