Mohammad Aslam Watanjar

Colonel general Aslam Watanjar
Aslam Watanjar in the 1980s
Minister of Defence
In office 6 March 1990 – April 1992
Preceded by	Shahnawaz Tanai
Succeeded by	Ahmad Shah Massoud
In office April – 28 July 1979
Preceded by	Abdul Qadir
Succeeded by	Hafizullah Amin
Minister of Internal Affairs
In office 15 November 1988 – 6 March 1990
Preceded by	Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy
Succeeded by	Raz Muhammad Paktin
In office 28 July 1979 – 19 September 1979
Preceded by	Sherjan Mazdoryar
Succeeded by	Vacant
In office 11 July 1978 – 1 April 1979
Preceded by	Nur Ahmad Nur
Succeeded by	Sherjan Mazoryar
Minister of Communications
In office 10 January 1980 – 1988
Preceded by	Mohammad Zarif
Succeeded by	Unknown
In office 30 April 1978 – July 1978
Preceded by	Abdul Karim Attayee
Succeeded by	Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy
Personal details
Born	1946 Paktia Province, Kingdom of Afghanistan
Died	24 November 2000(2000-11-24) (aged 53–54) Odesa, Ukraine
Political party	People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
Profession	Military officer Politician
Nickname	“The Yeti”
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of Afghanistan (1967–1973) Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978) Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992)
Branch/service	Afghan Army
Years of service	1967–1992
Rank	Colonel General
Commands	4th Tank Brigade
Battles/wars	1973 Afghan coup d'état 1975 Panjshir Valley uprising Saur Revolution Soviet-Afghan War Afghan Civil War (1989-1992)

Mohammad Aslam Watanjar (Pashto: محمداسلم وطنجار,‎ 1946 – November 2000) was an Afghan military officer and politician. He played a significant role in the coup in 1978 that killed the Afghan President Mohammad Daoud Khan, starting the Saur Revolution. Watanjar later became a member of the politburo in the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

Early life

An ethnic Pashtun, Aslam Watanjar was born in 1946, in Zurmula, in Afghanistan's Paktia Province. He trained as a tank commander in the Soviet Union following his graduation from the Military Academy in Kabul in 1967, being part of the Afghan Army’s 4th Tank Brigade.

Saur Revolution

Watanjar's role in the communist coup of 1978 was important. Instructed by Hafizullah Amin, he initiated the march of tank forces from the 4th and 15th Tank Brigades near Pul-e-Charkhi against the Republican government of Daoud Khan.

Colonel Aslam Watanjar was the Army commander on the ground during the coup, and his troops gained control of Kabul. Colonel Abdul Qadir, the leader of the Air Force squadrons, also launched a major attack on the Arg Presidential Palace, in the course of which Mohammed Daoud Khan was killed. Watanjar was present when corpses of the president and his family were buried in a pit.

Colonel Watanjar was also in charge of the announcement over Radio Kabul, in the Pashtu language, that a Revolutionary Council of the Armed Forces had been established, with Colonel Abdul Qadir at its head. The council's initial statement of principles, issued late in the evening of April 27, was a noncommittal affirmation of Islamic, democratic, and non-aligned ideals.

He was in charge of the operation until Amin took over from him in the evening. On April 30 the RC issued the first of a series of fateful decrees. The decree formally abolished the military's revolutionary council.

Role in the Khalq and Parcham governments

Following the coup, Watanjar was appointed deputy prime minister and minister of communications. Later he served successively as minister of the interior, of defense, and again of the interior until he joined others in a plot against Amin.

The Herat uprising also set off a new round in the Afghan regime's internal power struggle. To assuage charges of weak performance in the military leadership, Taraki finally granted Watanjar the position of Minister of Defense.

Watanjar's move to take over the Defense Ministry was a demonstrable exploitation of Amin's vulnerability in the aftermath of the failings of the army. However, by July 1979, Amin took over the defense portfolio, replacing him on the grounds that he was a Taraki-sympathizer.

Aslam Watanjar joined forces with Sarwari, Gulabzoy and others Khalqis in a plot against then Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin.

Except for Sarwari, who was from the province of Ghazni, the others were from Paktia. They had influence with the army, which was officered by a considerable number of persons from Paktia.

Until their break with Amin, Sarwari was head of the Intelligence Department (AGSA), while the others were cabinet ministers. At first close friends of Amin, they later turned against him, siding with President Nur Mohammad Taraki in opposition to Amin.

When Amin overcame them, they took refuge in the Soviet embassy along with Sarwari and Gulabzoy.

The presence in Soviet Red Army of Sarwari, Watanjar, and Gulabzoy might have influenced the officers not to respond to the invasion. Along with them, he served as a guide for the Soviets.

After the invasion he was promoted to membership in the central committee and the Revolutionary Council and was appointed Minister of Communications. In June 1981 he was added to the Politburo.

Later he served successively as Minister of Defense and again of the Interior.

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

On March 6, 1990, General Watanjar intercepted a tank battalion of Shahnawaz Tanai during Tanai's coup attempt, which eventually failed. Watanjar was awarded a four-star rank by President Najibullah and also made Secretary of Defense.

After the fall of Kabul and the collapse of President Najibullah's government, he left the country.

Later life and death

On 24 November 2000, Watanjar died of cancer while in exile, in the Ukrainian city of Odesa. He was 54.