Sher Mohammad Karimi | |
---|---|
Chief of Army Staff of Afghanistan | |
In office 20 June 2010 – 22 May 2015 | |
Preceded by | Bismillah Khan Mohammadi |
Succeeded by | Qadam Shah Shahim |
Personal details | |
Born | Khost, Afghanistan | 11 November 1945
Military service | |
Allegiance | Islamic Republic of Afghanistan |
Branch/service | Afghan National Army |
Years of service | 1970s – present |
Rank | General |
General Sher Mohammad Karimi (born November 11, 1945) was the Chief of Army Staff in the Military of Afghanistan. An ethnic Pashtun,[1][2] Karimi was born in Khost Province of Afghanistan.
After the 1978 Saur Revolution in Afghanistan, Karimi was arrested and incarcerated by the Khalq faction of the PDPA communist party because of his Western education. He was employed as a director during Dr. Mohammad Najibullah Government in ministry of defence. Unlike many of his communist colleagues and the majority of the Afghan officer corps, Karimi had never received training in the Soviet Union. He was eventually forced into exile in Pakistan until the removal of the Taliban government in late 2001.
Karimi returned to his special-operations roots at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in February 2010. Previously, he served as the Chief of Operations for the Afghan Ministry of Defense.[3]
Karimi, a Pashtun, has been nominated to replace Bismillah Khan.