Ismail Khan was born in 1948 (1327 SH) in the village of Nasrabad, Shindand District, Herat, in western Afghanistan. After completing his primary education, he joined the Shunzi Military Academy and then the Military University.
Before the arrival of the Soviets in Afghanistan, Ismail Khan served as a lieutenant officer in the 17th Division of Herat.
With the onset of the Mujahideen uprisings in Afghanistan against the former Soviet Union, Ismail Khan also seized the opportunity and joined the Mujahideen after the uprising on 24th of Hoot in 1357
When the communist government of Afghanistan was on the brink of collapse and Najibullah, the last president of the communist regime in Afghanistan, agreed to hand over power to the Mujahideen leadership council, just 9 days before the Mujahideen entered Kabul, Ismail Khan, along with his forces, entered the city of Herat in the west of the country and took control of it.
Until 1995 (1374 HS), Ismail Khan was the powerful commander of the 4th Corps of the Afghan Army in the west of the country and the governor of Herat Province; two simultaneous roles that set the stage for his transformation into a dictator. A multifaceted personality, during his rule, despite undertaking numerous projects to blind the people of Herat, this city and its inhabitants spent their days and nights in sorrow under his regime.
It should be mentioned that Ismail Khan was one of the major supporters of Burhanuddin Rabbani’s government in Kabul; a government that, under the pretext of Islam, committed the worst atrocities, including the Afshar massacre, after coming to power.
Since Ismail Khan was the commander of the Islamic Party, it is undoubtedly impossible to erase the stain of civil wars from his forehead; wars that brought nothing but destruction and misery to the suffering nation of Afghanistan.
He also played an active role in igniting the flames of civil wars and, in 1995 (1374 SH), clashed with the forces under the command of Abdul Rashid Dostum, and both shed a lot of innocent blood to maintain and expand their power.
In the middle of 1995 (1374 SH), heavy battles broke out between the Taliban movement and Ismail Khan. Initially, the Taliban movement retreated tactically, pulling back to near Helmand province. However, it wasn’t long before they engaged in battle against Ismail Khan with greater strength and, after heavy fighting in Farah province, succeeded in capturing the city of Herat.
With the capture of Herat by the Taliban, however, Ismail Khan, who was thirsty for power and influence, formed a new front called the General Emirate of the Southwest Region and shortly thereafter, along with a group of his forces, went to the central and northern regions of Afghanistan and continued the fight against the Taliban.
After a relatively short period of time and enduring numerous defeats, Ismail Khan finally chose to flee rather than stay and took refuge in his patron Iran; a country that later used this person as an effective spy and implemented that’s country dark policies in Afghanistan, particularly in the city of Herat.
To be continued…
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