# Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan)

The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (Pashto: د افغانستان د ملي اردو لوی درستیز) is the highest-ranking military officer in the military of Afghanistan (currently the Islamic Emirate Armed Forces), who is responsible for maintaining the operational command of the military.

## List of chiefs

Abdul Karim Mustaghni was army chief of staff until the 1973 overthrow of the monarchy. Under the rule of Hafizullah Amin, his brother in law Mohammed Yaqub served as Chief of the General Staff until being executed by Soviet-Parcham forces in December of 1979. In the late 1980s, during the communist regime, Nazar Mohammad served as army chief of staff, followed by Shahnawaz Tanai, Both from the Khalq faction of the PDPA (December 1984 – March 1990), who was succeeded by Mohammed Asif Delawar following the 1990 coup attempt, which was led by Tanai.

### Kingdom of Afghanistan (1926–1973)

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Defence branch | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
| | | Major general Abdul Karim Mustaghni (1911–2004) | ? | 1973 | ? | Army | |

### Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978)

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Defence branch | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
| | | Major general Ghulam Haidar Rasuli (1919–1978) | 1975 | April 1978 | ? | Army | |

### Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992)

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Defence branch | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
| | | Colonel general Mohammad Aslam Watanjar (1946–2000) | 1978 | 1 April 1979 | ? | Army | |
| | | Lieutenant general Mohammed Yakub (?–1979) | 1 April 1979 | 27 December 1979 | ? | Army | |
| | | Major General Gul Aqa | ? | ? | ? | Army | |
| | | Lieutenant general Baba Jan Zahid | ? | January 1984 | ? | Army | |
| | | Colonel general Nazar Mohammad (1935–1998) | January 1984 | December 4 1984 | ? | Air Force | |
| | | Lieutenant general Shahnawaz Tanai (1950–2022) | December 1984 | March 1990 | ? | Army | |
| | | General Mohammed Asif Delawar | March 1990 | 1992 | ? | Army | |

### Afghan Armed Forces (Islamic Republic era)

| No. | Chief of General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
| 1 | Mohammadi, BismullahLieutenant general Bismillah Khan Mohammadi (born 1961) | 8 March 2002 | 30 June 2010 | 8 years, 114 days | Afghan National Army |
| 2 | Karimi, SherGeneral Sher Mohammad Karimi (born 1945) | 30 June 2010 | 22 May 2015 | 4 years, 326 days | Afghan National Army |
| 3 | Shahim, QadamGeneral Qadam Shah Shahim (born 1962) | 22 May 2015 | 24 April 2017 | 1 year, 337 days | Afghan National Army |
| 4 | Yaftali, MohammadLieutenant general Mohammad Sharif Yaftali | 26 April 2017 | 13 March 2019 | 1 year, 323 days | Afghan National Army |
| 5 | Waziri, BismillahLieutenant general Bismillah Waziri | 13 March 2019 | 7 July 2020 | 1 year, 116 days | Afghan National Army |
| 6 | Zia, YasinLieutenant general Yasin Zia | 7 July 2020 | 19 June 2021 | 347 days | Afghan National Army |
| 7 | Ahmadzai, Wali MohammadLieutenant general Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai | 19 June 2021 | 11 August 2021 | 53 days | Afghan National Army |
| 8 | Alizai, HebatullahLieutenant general Hebatullah Alizai | 11 August 2021 | 15 August 2021 | 4 days | Afghan National Army |

### Islamic Emirate Armed Forces

| No. | Portrait | Chief of General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
| 1 | | Fasihuddin, QariGeneral Qari Fasihuddin | 7 September 2021 | Incumbent | 3 years, 157 days* | Islamic National Army | |
* Incumbent's time in office last updated: 11 February 2025.