History and Biodata |
1. Former Deputy Heads of NDS: Gen Abdul Qayyum Katawazai Katawazi Katawazy (2010), General Hassamuddin Hassam (20100700 - )
2. Previous Functions of Hassamuddin: Security advisor to the First Vice President, Marshal Fahim, Head military affairs department (riyasat-e ummur-e nezami) at the Ministry of Defence,
3. Biodata: Gen Hassam Hassamuddin is a Panjshiri who was working as a security advisor to the First Vice President, Marshal Fahim. Before that, Hassam was in charge of the military affairs department (riyasat-e ummur-e nezami) at the Ministry of Defence. He’s from the pro-Fahim, rather than the pro-Dr Abdullah faction of Shura-e Nazar. General Hassam has replaced Qayyum Katawazai, who had only been in the job since April. Katawazai, who is from Paktika and is reportedly former PDPA, had been the governor of Paktika and before that, head of NDS in Kandahar and Ghazni (he had followed the now Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, Assadullah Khaled, as he moved about the country taking different governorships). The appointment of General Hassam means that the Panjshiris – who have strong historic ties with NDS – have not lost out completely and should still be protected under the new regime. Their ties date back to 1992, when the mujahedin captured Kabul and General Fahim, who had run Shura-e Nazar’s intelligence arm during the jihad, was appointed head of the Islamic State of Afghanistan’s intelligence agency. Fahim had appointed many of his people to posts in the agency, and although they fled with their comrades when the Taleban took power in 1996, they took back their old posts in 2001. Shura-e Nazar had led the Northern Alliance capture of Kabul and took control, not just of NDS (Engineer Arif, with Amrullah Saleh as his deputy), but both security ministries, Defence (General Fahim) and Interior (Yunus Qanuni), as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Dr Abdullah) and the Office for Administrative Affairs, the quasi-prime ministry, without a prime minister.
The appointment of Engineer Nabeel Nabil as the Head of NDS means that, apart from the four years of the Taleban regime, this is the first time in almost two decades that a Panjshiri from Shura-e Nazar has not been in charge of Afghanistan’s intelligence agency. |