Sher Mohammed Akhundzada (also known as Sher Ahmed Akhundzada) is a tribal leader who was the Governor of Helmand in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2005.

Early life

Sher Mohammed was born to the Akhundzada family in northern Helmand province, which played an important role in the Soviet–Afghan War. Belonging to the main tribe of Helmand, the Alizais, they hailed from the district of Musa Qala. His uncle was

Mohammad Nasim Akhundzada Mullah Mohammad Nasim Akhundzada (died 1990) was a mujahideen commander and Pashtun warlord who operated in Helmand Province, Afghanistan during the 1980s. Based out of Musa Qala in northern Helmand, Nasim was from the Alizai tribe. He issued a ...

who became a leading jihadi commander in Helmand. After Nasim was assassinated in 1990, his brother Rasul Akhundzada (Sher Mohammad's father) became governor of Helmand. Another brother, Abdul Ghafar Akhundzada, became governor when Rasul died of cancer. Abdul Ghafar was assassinated in Quetta, Pakistan on 18 March 2000.

Governor of Helmand

Sher Mohammed Akhundzada was appointed as Governor by the President Hamid Karzai in 2001 and served until 2005. Talking to journalists in Kabul, Sher Muhammad Akhundzada claimed that while he was governor of

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...

for four years, NATO did not drop a single bomb on the province, no civilians were killed, and no districts fell to the Taliban. "If I were still there, I am sure things would be the same as before." He identified agricultural projects to be implemented in

such as excavation of a canal from the

Kajaki Kajaki is a village in southern Afghanistan, and is split between two townsteads, Kajaki 'Olya, and Kajaki Sofla. It is the district centre of Kajaki District in Helmand Province. North east of the village is an important hydro power station fo ...

dam to irrigate northern

, construction of an intake on

Musa Qala River The Musa Qala ( ps, د موسى قلعه رود) is a river in Afghanistan. It is a tributary of the Helmand River and highly participates in the irrigation of arable lands of the district. It is flowing 90 km through the Musa Qala ; "Fortres ...

to irrigate the arable lands and generate electricity, and construction of an intake on Helmand river in Kamal Khan to irrigate unproductive farms. Sher Mohammad was also deeply involved in the production and smuggling of opium. In June 2005 Sher Mohammad's compound was raided by US forces, which claimed to have found a large stash of opium. Britain—which had been designated the "lead nation" for counter-narcotics activities in Afghanistan—successfully lobbied for Sher Muhammad's deposition before deploying ISAF forces to Helmand.

2009 Presidential election

During the

2009 presidential election 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra a ...

, Akhundzada and

Ahmed Wali Karzai Ahmed Wali Karzai ( ps, احمد ولي کرزی, , 1961 – 12 July 2011) was a politician in Afghanist ...

, a half-brother of the incumbent president, were accused of buying up voter registration cards in Helmand Province.President Karzai’s supporters ‘buy’ votes for Afghanistan election
'' The Times'', 2009-08-12"President Karzai’s supporters ‘buy’ votes for Afghanistan election"
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhundzada, Sher Mohammed Governors of Helmand Province Year of birth missing (living people) Living people