Mohammad Najibullah

Mohammad Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah
محمد نجیب‌الله احمدزی
	Najibullah in 1991
General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
	In office; 4 May 1986 – 16 April 1992
Preceded by	Babrak Karmal
Succeeded by	Position disbanded
2nd President of Afghanistan
	In office; 30 November 1987 – 16 April 1992
Prime Minister	Sultan Ali Keshtmand; Mohammad Hasan Sharq; Fazal Haq Khaliqyar;
Vice President	Abdul Rahim Hatif; Mohammed Rafie; Abdul Hamid Mohtat; Abdul Wahed Sorabi; Sultan Ali Keshtmand; Mohammed Eshaq Tokhi;
Preceded by	Himself (as Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council); Mohammed Daoud Khan (as President, 1978);
Succeeded by	Burhanuddin Rabbani
Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council
	In office; 30 September 1987 – 30 November 1987
Preceded by	Haji Mohammad Chamkani
Succeeded by	Himself (as president)
Director of the State Intelligence Agency (KHAD)
	In office; 11 January 1980 – 21 November 1985
Leader	Babrak Karmal; (as General Secretary)
Preceded by	Assadullah Amin
Succeeded by	Ghulam Faruq Yaqubi
Personal details
Born	6 August 1947; Gardez, Kingdom of Afghanistan
Died	27 September 1996 (aged 49); Kabul, Afghanistan
Cause of death	Shot in the head
Resting place	Gardez, Paktia, Afghanistan
Political party	PDPA (Parcham); Homeland Party (from 1990)
Spouse	Fatana Najib (m. 1974)
Children	3
Education	Habibia High School ; SJS Baramulla
Alma mater	Kabul University
Awards	Domestic:; Hero of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan; Order of the Sun of Liberty; Order of the Red Banner (Afghanistan); Order of the Saur Revolution; Order of Friendship of Peoples (Afghanistan); Order For Gallantry (Afghanistan); Foreign:; Order of José Marti; Order of Friendship of Peoples
Military service
Allegiance	Afghanistan
Branch/service	Afghan Army; KhAD
Years of service	1965–1992
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Soviet–Afghan War; Afghan Civil War (1989–1992);

Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (Pashto/Dari: محمد نجیب‌الله احمدزی, Pashto: [mʊˈhamad nad͡ʒibʊˈlɑ ahmadˈzai]; 6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996),^[6] commonly known as Dr. Najib, was an Afghan politician who served as the General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, the leader of the one-party ruling Republic of Afghanistan from 1986 to 1992 and as well as the President of Afghanistan from 1987 until his resignation in April 1992, shortly after which the mujahideen took over Kabul. After a failed attempt to flee to India, Najibullah remained in Kabul. He lived in the United Nations headquarters until his assassination during the Taliban's capture of Kabul.^[7]^[8]^[9]

A graduate of Kabul University, Najibullah held different careers under the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Following the Saur Revolution and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, Najibullah was a low profile bureaucrat. He was sent into exile as Ambassador to Iran during Hafizullah Amin's rise to power. He returned to Afghanistan following the Soviet intervention which toppled Amin's rule and placed Babrak Karmal as head of the state, the party and the government. During Karmal's rule, Najibullah became head of the KHAD, the Afghan equivalent of the Soviet KGB. He was a member of the Parcham faction led by Karmal. During Najibullah's tenure as KHAD head, it became one of the most brutally efficient governmental organs. Because of this, he gained the attention of several leading Soviet officials, such as Yuri Andropov, Dmitriy Ustinov and Boris Ponomarev. In 1981, Najibullah was appointed to the PDPA Politburo. In 1985, Najibullah stepped down as the state security minister to focus on PDPA politics; he had been appointed to the PDPA Secretariat. Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, also the last Soviet leader, was able to get Karmal to step down as PDPA General Secretary in 1986, and replace him with Najibullah. For a number of months, Najibullah was locked in a power struggle against Karmal, who still retained his post of Chairman of the Revolutionary Council. Najibullah accused Karmal of trying to wreck his policy of National Reconciliation, a series of efforts by Najibullah to end the conflict.

During his tenure as leader of Afghanistan, the Soviets began their withdrawal, and from 1989 until 1992, his government tried to solve the ongoing civil war without Soviet troops on the ground. While direct Soviet assistance ended with the withdrawal, the Soviet Union still supported Najibullah with economic and military aid, while Pakistan and the United States continued their support for the mujahideen. Throughout his tenure, he tried to build support for his government via the National Reconciliation reforms by distancing from socialism in favor of Afghan nationalism, abolishing the one-party state and letting non-communists join the government. He remained open to dialogue with the mujahideen and other groups, made Islam an official religion, and invited exiled businessmen back to re-take their properties.^[10] In the 1990 constitution, all references to communism were removed and Islam became the state religion. For various reasons, such changes did not win Najibullah any significant support. Following the August Coup in Moscow^[11] and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Najibullah was left without foreign aid. This, coupled with the internal collapse of his government (following the defection of general Abdul Rashid Dostum), led to his resignation in April 1992. In 1996, he was tortured and killed by the Taliban.

In 2017, the pro-Najibullah Watan Party was created as a continuation of Najibullah's party.^[12]

^ National Foreign Assessment Center (1987). Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. p. 1. hdl:2027/uc1.c050186243.
^ Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments. Washington, DC: National Foreign Assessment Center, Central Intelligence Agency. 1988. p. 1. hdl:2027/osu.32435024019804.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f National Foreign Assessment Center (1991). Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. p. 1. hdl:2027/osu.32435024019754.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Whitaker, Joseph (December 1991). Whitaker's Almanac 1992 124. William Clowes. ISBN 978-0-85021-220-4.
^ Cite error: The named reference bri was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ @muskanajibullah (6 August 2019). "Happy Birthday, #Aba. I remember this day when I was sick; you sat me on your lap & held me close. You knew what it…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference dailytimes.com.pk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "New Afghan leadership's 'national reconciliation' policy signals welcome changes". India Today.
^ "SOVIET 'COLLAPSE' SHIFTS THE AXIS OF GLOBAL POLITICS – The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
^ "The Ghost of Najibullah: Hezb-e Watan announces (another) relaunch – Afghanistan Analysts Network". www.afghanistan-analysts.org. 21 August 2017.

[NFAC1987-1] National Foreign Assessment Center (1987). Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. p. 1. hdl:2027/uc1.c050186243.

[NFAC1988-2] Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments. Washington, DC: National Foreign Assessment Center, Central Intelligence Agency. 1988. p. 1. hdl:2027/osu.32435024019804.

[NFAC1991-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f National Foreign Assessment Center (1991). Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. p. 1. hdl:2027/osu.32435024019754.

[whitakersalmanac-4] Whitaker, Joseph (December 1991). Whitaker's Almanac 1992 124. William Clowes. ISBN 978-0-85021-220-4.

[bri-5] Cite error: The named reference bri was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[6] @muskanajibullah (6 August 2019). "Happy Birthday, #Aba. I remember this day when I was sick; you sat me on your lap & held me close. You knew what it…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[:2-7] Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:4-8] Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[dailytimes.com.pk-9] Cite error: The named reference dailytimes.com.pk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[10] "New Afghan leadership's 'national reconciliation' policy signals welcome changes". India Today.

[11] "SOVIET 'COLLAPSE' SHIFTS THE AXIS OF GLOBAL POLITICS – The Washington Post". The Washington Post.

[afghanistan-analysts.org-12] "The Ghost of Najibullah: Hezb-e Watan announces (another) relaunch – Afghanistan Analysts Network". www.afghanistan-analysts.org. 21 August 2017.

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