Afghan Biographies

Sarwari, Muhammad Arif Aref Engineer


Name Sarwari, Muhammad Arif Aref Engineer
Ethnic backgr. Tajik
Date of birth 1961
Function/Grade Ex Governor
History and Biodata

Engineer Mohammad Arif Sarwari
Mobile: 0093799 311937 Email: afgagovadvisov@yahoo.com

 

2. Previous Functions:
Head of communications committee of Shura-e-Nazar in the Panjshir front,
Chief of Security of Kabul, Major General (1984),
First deputy of National Security Directorate, Assistant and political and security advisor to Afghanistan's national hero and martyr, Ahmad Shah Masoud,
Chief of the National Security Directorate (2001-2003),
Lieutenant General (2002),
Advisor to the Minister for Government Affairs,
Meshrano Jirga Member 2005 MP MNA Panjshir Panjsher
Provincial Governor Panjshir (20150606, 20170316)
 

3. Biodata:
arif_sarwari_engEngineer Mohammed Arif Sarwari, son of Al-Haj Mohammed Usman, was born in the Deh Mazang area of Kabul in 1961. He completed his primary education in 1974 at Ghazi Mohammed Ayub Khan Primary School and graduated from eighth grade of Naderia High School in 1977. He then joined a technical institute and in 1962 graduated from the fourteenth grade of that institute in the field of electricity and electronics with flying colors. Sarwari was the first person who defended his diploma on the subject of auto buses and their urban systems written in Russian. Later, he was introduced to the second semester of the third class of Kabul Polytechnic, however, he did not continue his education due to political problems and traveled to Panjshir in September 1982 to join the anti-Soviet resistance. Sarwari is a member of the Afghanistan Islamic Education Party.

He was removed as the Head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) because the US wanted Amrullah Saleh on this job who consequently replaced Arif in early 2004.

Abdullah originally proposed Fazel Ahmad Manawi, former Chairman of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), and Arif Sarwary, former Director of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), as nominees for the top Ministry of Interior job. When President Ghani disapproved of Fazel Ahmad Manawi, Abdullah allegedly pushed for Sarwary. However, the president is said to object to his nomination as well.(20141230)

Chief of the integrity Watch of Afghanistan (IWA) Sayed Ikram Afzali said, “Governor of Panjshir is accused, and the case should be reviewed significantly, in case the documents approve it, he needs to be dismissed from his position and introduced to justice and judicial departments.”  Governor of Panjshir Arif Sarwari called the accusation baseless and insisted over the legalization of the mines. Both Panjshir representatives in the lower house and provincial council refused to give details or views over the issue, amid officials in Ministry of Interior Affairs claimed that no document is received over the issue yet. (20170315)

Sarwari made it to Kuwait from Afghanistan in early September 2021with his wife and two of his daughters and says he doesn't know why he's been held up. He was a prominent figure in Afghanistan, serving as the former director of intelligence after the U.S. invasion in 2001. Before that, he was a top official with the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. Sarwari has applied for a special immigrant visa, which is issued to people who worked for the U.S. government or its allies during the war. He has not received a response, according to his lawyer, Julie Sirrs. "In theory, he is free to leave, but it's not clear where he could go," Sirrs said. "He obviously cannot return to Afghanistan. He's clearly in danger if he returns." He and others live a circumscribed existence on Bondsteel, Kosovo. Although technically not detained, they cannot leave the arid, rocky base and have spent months in tents, which were adorned with handwritten signs during this week's protest. One said, "unfair decision," while another said, "children are suffering." Afghans are housed in a section of Bondsteel called Camp Liya, named for an Afghan child handed to the U.S. Marines over a fence at the Hamid Karzai International Airport during the evacuation, according to a U.S. military publication. The people sent to Bondsteel were stopped and diverted for a host of reasons, including missing or flawed documents or security concerns that emerged during overseas vetting by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, officials have said.(20220601)


He is married and has a son and two daughters. 

He speaks Dari, Pashto, Russian and English.

Last Modified 2022-07-07
Established 2009-10-22