Sher Mohammed Akhundzada (also known as Sher Ahmed Akhundzada) is a tribal leader who was the Governor of Helmand in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

from 2001 to 2005.

Early life

Sher Mohammed was born to the Akhundzada family in northern

Helmand province 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 ...

, which played an important role in the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Sovie ...

. Belonging to the main tribe of Helmand, the Alizais, they hailed from the district of

Musa Qala ; "Fortress of Moses") is a town and the district centre of Musa Qala District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is located at and at an altitude of 1,043 m in the valley of Musa Qala River in the central western part of the district. Its pop ...

. His uncle was Mohammad Nasim Akhundzada 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 Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

on 18 March 2000.

Governor of Helmand

Sher Mohammed Akhundzada was appointed as Governor by the President

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

in 2001 and served until 2005. Talking to journalists in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, 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 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

did not drop a single bomb on the province, no civilians were killed, and no districts fell to the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

. "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 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 Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

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 Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

—which had been designated the "lead nation" for counter-narcotics activities in Afghanistan—successfully lobbied for Sher Muhammad's deposition before deploying

ISAF ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

forces to Helmand.

2009 Presidential election

During the 2009 presidential election, Akhundzada and Ahmed Wali Karzai, a half-brother of the incumbent president, were accused of buying up voter registration cards in

Helmand Province 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 ...

.President Karzai’s supporters ‘buy’ votes for Afghanistan election
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 2009-08-12"President Karzai’s supporters ‘buy’ votes for Afghanistan election"
/ref>

References

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