Information AboutKhad |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT KHAD | |
| defunct intelligence agencies | |
| history of afghanistan | |
| law enforcement agencies of afghanistan | |
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Because the regime depended so much on coercion to stay in power, the most important political institution, from the standpoint of ordinary Afghans in the mid-1980s, was probably the internal security organs. After the December 1979 Soviet invasion, KAM was renamed the State Information Service (Khadamate Ettelaate Dowlati, in Dari-KHAD), and was controlled by the KGB . This was a brutal agency specifically created for the suppression of Afghanistan Marxist-Leninist regime's internal opponents. DIRECTORS OF THE ORGANIZATION ORGANIZATION Little is known of its internal organization, but KHAD's system of informers and operatives extended into virtually every aspect of Afghan life, especially in the government-controlled Urban areas. Aside from its secret police work, KHAD supervised Ideological education at School s and College s, ran a special school for war orphans, and recruited young men for the militia. Its importance to Moscow was reflected in the fact that it was chiefly responsible for the training of a new generation of Afghans who could be loyal to the Soviet Union . Another important area was work with tribes and ethnic minorities. KHAD collaborated with the ''Ministry of Nationalities and Tribal Affairs'' to foster support for the regime in the countryside. KHAD also directed its attention to Afghanistan's Hindu and Sikh religious minorities KHAD was also responsible for co-opting religious leaders. It funded an official body known as the ''Religious Affairs Directorate'' and recruited proregime ulama and mosque attendants to spy on worshipers. Some sources give 60 percent of the PDPA party membership as belonging to the Armed Forces, Sarandoy, or KHAD. One observer, John Fullerton , calls it ''the primary instrument used in the Soviet isation of the country.'' KHAD was responsible for the ideological education of new PDPA members and armed forces personnel. POLITICAL FACTIONS KHAD also had a political role that was clearly unintended by the Soviets. It was initially headed by Mohammad Najibullah , until he became President Of Afghanistan in 1986 . Its director, Najibullah, and other high officials were Parchamis. As head of the KHAD apparatus, Najibullah was also extremely powerful. Consequently, KHAD evolved into a Parchami stronghold, equally zealous in the suppression of enemies of the revolution. Thus, KHAD was zealous in suppressing Khalqis in the government and in the armed forces. There was a bitter rivalry between Najibullah and Sayed Muhammad Gulabzoi . Gulabzoi, a Khalq sympathizer, was Minister Of Interior and Commander of Sarandoy (''Defenders of the Revolution''), the ''National Gendarmerie''. Gulabzoi was one of the few prominent Khalqis remaining in office in a Parcham-dominated regime. In late 1985, Najibullah was promoted to be a secretary on the PDPA Central Committee; in this capacity he may be able to exercise party authority over all security organs, including those attached to the Khalq-dominated defense and interior ministries. It is assume to be a reward for the efficiency and ruthlessness of the secret police that was in sharp contrast to the performance of the poorly trained and demoralized Armed Forces. INVOLVEMENT IN THE CIVIL WAR In the mid-1980s KHAD enjoyed a formidable measure of autonomy in relation to other Afghan state institutions. KHAD reportedly has had some success in penetrating the leadership councils of the several resistance groups, most of which are headquartered in Pakistan . By the mid-1980s KHAD had gained a fearsome reputation as the eyes, ears, and scourge of the regime. Its influence was pervasive, and its methods lawless. KHAD's activities reached beyond the borders of Afghanistan to neighboring Pakistan and Iran . On January 29 , 1981 its headquarters on Kabul were attacked and destroyed by Mujahideen troops. HUMAN RIGHTS The KHAD was also accused of Human Right s abuses in the mid 1980s. These included the use of Torture , the use of predetermined " Show Trial s" to dispose of political prisoners; and widespread arbitrary arrest and detention. Secret trials and the execution of prisoners without trial were also common. It was especially active and aggressive in the urban centers, especially in Kabul . In 1985 organizations such as Amnesty International continued to publish detailed reports of KHAD's use of torture and of inhumane conditions in the country's prisons and jails. KHAD also operated eight detention centers in the capital, which were located at KHAD headquarters; at the Ministry of Interior headquarters; at a location known as the Central Interrogation Office . |
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