Qadam Shah Shahim Explained

Honorific-Prefix:General
Qadam Shah Shahim
Office:Afghan Ambassador to Oman
President:Ashraf Ghani
Term Start:11 December 2018[1]
Office1:Afghan Ambassador to Kazakhstan
Predecessor1:Mohammad Farooq Baraki
Successor1:Mohammad Farhad Azimi
President1:Ashraf Ghani
Term Start1:27 April 2017[2]
Term End1:2018
Office2:Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army
Predecessor2:Sher Mohammad Karimi
Successor2:Mohammad Sharif Yaftali
President2:Ashraf Ghani
Term Start2:22 May 2015
Term End2:24 April 2017
Birth Place:Tashkan, Badakhshan, Kingdom of Afghanistan
Branch: Afghan National Army
Rank: General
Unit:111st Capital Division
Battles:Soviet–Afghan War
Afghan Civil War
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

General Qadam Shah Shahim an Afghan diplomat and former army officer. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army from May 2015 to April 2017 before resigning amid political fallout over the 2017 Camp Shaheen attack.

Early life and education

Shahim, an ethnic Tajik, was born in the Tashkan district of Badakhshan, in 1962 and attended Keshm High School, graduating in 1982.[3] [4]

Military career

Early military career

From the early 1980s, Shahim fought with Jamiat-e Islami against the Soviets. He later fought against other mujahedin factions during the civil war, and then against the Taliban. In 1994, he was appointed as commander of 82 Regiment in Qargha, and in 1997 was made a Brigadier. In 2001, Shahim was commander of the 37th Brigade of Commandos and dealt often with foreign forces.

Late military career

In 2007, he commanded the 1st Brigade of the 111st Capital Division, based in Kabul. In 2011, he was appointed as commander of the 111st Capital Division, which is half the size of a normal division. Shahim was wounded in the July 2014 attack on Kabul Airport and hospitalised in Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan hospital for further treatment. In May 2015, he was appointed as Chief of the General Staff of the Afghan National Army. In August and September 2016, Shahim visited India in order to enhance ties with the Indian army and to seek new avenues for acquiring military equipment.[5]

Notes and References

  1. News: Envoys submit copies of credentials . 24 July 2022 . . 11 December 2018.
  2. Web site: Ex-Army Chief, Defense Minister Tipped As Ambassadors. 27 April 2017. ToloNews.
  3. Web site: Shahim (Kossmadar Padare Abu Shamal), Qadam Shah, Maj Gen. Afghan Biographies. 27 December 2016.
  4. News: Defence minister-designate, new army chief named. Kakar. Javed Hamim. 19 May 2015. Pajhwok Afghan News. 27 December 2016.
  5. News: Afghanistan army chief in India. 30 August 2016. Business Standard. 27 December 2016.