| Chief of Staff of theIslamic Emirate Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Dari:رئیس ستاد نیروهای مسلح افغانستان Pashto:د افغانستان د ملي اردو لوی درستیز | |
 | |
since 7 September 2021 | |
| Ministry of Defense | |
| Reports to | Minister of Defense |
| Seat | Kabul |
| Appointer | Supreme Leader |
TheChief of Staff of the Armed Forces[1] (Dari:رئیس ستاد نیروهای مسلح افغانستان;Pashto:د افغانستان د ملي اردو لوی درستیز) is the highest-rankingmilitary officer in the military ofAfghanistan (currently theIslamic Emirate Armed Forces), who is responsible for maintaining the operational command of the military.
Abdul Karim Mustaghni was army chief of staff until the1973 overthrow of themonarchy.[2] Under the rule ofHafizullah Amin, his brother in lawMohammed Yaqub served as Chief of the General Staff until being executed bySoviet-Parcham forces in December of 1979. In the late 1980s, during thecommunist regime,Nazar Mohammad served as army chief of staff, followed byShahnawaz Tanai, Both from theKhalq faction of thePDPA[3] (December 1984 – March 1990), who was succeeded by Mohammed Asif Delawar following the1990 coup attempt, which was led by Tanai.
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Defence branch | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
 | Major general Abdul Karim Mustaghni (1911–2004) | ? | 1973 | ? | Army | ||
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Defence branch | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
 | Major general Ghulam Haidar Rasuli (1919–1978) | 1975 | April 1978 | ? | Army | ||
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Defence branch | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
 | 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 | |||
.jpg) | Lieutenant general Shahnawaz Tanai (1950–2022) | December 1984 | March 1990 | ? | Army | [4] | |
| General Mohammed Asif Delawar | March 1990 | 1992 | ? | Army | |||
| No. | Portrait | Chief of General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Mohammadi, BismullahLieutenant general Bismillah Khan Mohammadi (born 1961) | 8 March 2002 | 30 June 2010 | 8 years, 114 days |  Afghan National Army | [5][6] |
| 2 |  | Karimi, SherGeneral Sher Mohammad Karimi (born 1945) | 30 June 2010 | 22 May 2015 | 4 years, 326 days | Afghan National Army | [5][7] |
| 3 | .jpg) | Shahim, QadamGeneral Qadam Shah Shahim (born 1962) | 22 May 2015 | 24 April 2017 | 1 year, 337 days | Afghan National Army | [5][8] |
| 4 | .jpg) | Yaftali, MohammadLieutenant general Mohammad Sharif Yaftali | 26 April 2017 | 13 March 2019 | 1 year, 323 days | Afghan National Army | [5][9] |
| 5 | .jpg) | Waziri, BismillahLieutenant general Bismillah Waziri | 13 March 2019 | 7 July 2020 | 1 year, 116 days | Afghan National Army | [5] |
| 6 | .jpg) | Zia, YasinLieutenant general Yasin Zia | 7 July 2020 | 19 June 2021 | 347 days | Afghan National Army | [10] |
| 7 |  | Ahmadzai, Wali MohammadLieutenant general Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai | 19 June 2021 | 11 August 2021 | 53 days | Afghan National Army | [11] |
| 8 | | Alizai, HebatullahLieutenant general Hebatullah Alizai | 11 August 2021 | 15 August 2021 | 4 days | Afghan National Army | [12][13] |
| No. | Portrait | Chief of General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Fitrat, FasihuddinColonel general Fasihuddin Fitrat | 7 September 2021 | Incumbent | 4 years, 82 days* |  Islamic National Army | [14][15] |
* Incumbent's time in office last updated: 28 November 2025.