Mohammad Hasan Sharq

Council of Ministers

17 July 1925 Anar Dara District, Afghanistan

-

26 May 1988 – 21 February 1989

Part of a series on the History of Afghanistan Timeline Ancient Indus Valley Civilisation 2200–1800 BC Oxus civilization 2100–1800 BC Gandhara Kingdom 1500–535 BC Median Empire 728–550 BC Achaemenid Empire 550–330 BC Seleucid Empire 330–150 BC Maurya Empire 305–180 BC Greco-Bactrian Kingdom 256–125 BC Parthian Empire 247 BC–224 AD Indo-Greek Kingdom 180–130 BC Indo-Scythian Kingdom 155–80? BC Kushan Empire 135 BC – 248 AD Indo-Parthian Kingdom 20 BC – 50? AD Sasanian Empire 230–651 Kidarite Kingdom 320–465 Alchon Huns 380–560 Hephthalite Empire 410–557 Nezak Huns 484–711 Medieval Kabul Shahi 565–879 Principality of Chaghaniyan 7th–8th centuries Rashidun Caliphate 652–661 Umayyads 661–750 Abbasids 750–821 Tahirids 821–873 Saffarids 863–900 Samanids 875–999 Ghaznavids 963–1187 Ghurids before 879–1215 Seljuks 1037–1194 Khwarezmids 1215–1231 Mongol Invasion 1219–1226 Chagatai Khanate 1226–1245 Qarlughids 1224–1266 Ilkhanate 1256–1335 Kartids 1245–1381 Timurids 1370–1507 Arghuns 1520–1591 Modern Mughals 1501–1738 Safavids 1510–1709 Hotak dynasty 1709–1738 Afsharid dynasty 1738–1747 Durrani Empire 1747–1823 Emirate 1823–1926 Saqqawist Emirate 1929 Kingdom 1926–1973 Daoud coup 1973 Republic 1973–1978 Saur Revolution 1978 Democratic Republic 1978–1992 Tanai coup attempt 1990 Islamic State 1992–2001 Islamic Emirate 1996–2001 US invasion 2001 Interim/Transitional Administration 2001–2004 Islamic Republic 2004–2021 Islamic Emirate since 2021 Related historical names of the region Arachosia Aria Ariana Bactria Gandhara Iran Kabulistan Kafiristan Khorasan Kushanshahr Paropamisadae Sistan Zabulistan Related topics Name Afghan (ethnonym) List of years List of heads of state List of wars Hinduism history Hindu and Buddhist heritage Muslim conquests Category  Afghanistan portalvte Mohammad Hasan Sharq (Pashto: محمد حسن شرق ‎, born 17 July 1925) is an Afghan former politician who was active in the communist government of Afghanistan. Sharq became Chairman of the Council of Ministers – the government of the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He was selected as a compromise candidate after a loya jirga ratified a new constitution in 1987. However, the power of his office was relatively slight compared with the powers held by the Presidency. Career Sharq served as spokesman for earlier Chairman of the Council of Ministers Mohammad Daoud Khan during the Kingdom of Afghanistan. When Daoud took over the Cabinet Posts of Prime Minister, Defense Minister and Foreign Minister, He appointed Sharq as his Deputy Prime Minister. He was Daoud's Minister of Finance from 1975 to about 1976. In March 1986 Afghan foreign minister Abdul Wakil invited mujahideen leaders, former King Zahir Shah and ex-ministers from previous governments to join a government of national unity. The new parliament that convened on May 30, 1989, two weeks after the Geneva Accords became effective and the beginning of the Soviet troop withdrawal in 1989, consisted of 184 lower house deputies and 115 senators; 62 house and 82 senate seats were left vacant for the resistance "opposition." As a compromise candidate, Sharq was selected by President Mohammad Najibullah to be the new Chairman of the Council of Ministers, replacing Sultan Ali Keshtmand. The appointment was intended dramatically to reinforce the point that the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) was going to take a back seat. The new constitution, however, vested key powers in the Presidency and Najibullah did not give up that central role. Sharq had served as the regime's Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers since June 1987 and before that as its Ambassador to India. Sharq's association with the Parcham faction, dating back to the Daoud government, made the "non-PDPA" appellation meaningless. Likewise, on June 7, when Sharq announced his cabinet, consisting of 11 new members and 10 former ones, the non-party credentials of the "new" ministers were undermined by the fact that most had served the regime government previously in other capacities. Furthermore, the powerful ministries of interior, state security, and foreign affairs remained in PDPA hands. The major exception was the effort to enlist a resistance commander or a respected retired general from an earlier era to become minister of defense. This post remained open for some time, but in August it was finally given to Army Chief of Staff General Shahnawaz Tanai of the Khalq faction. Thus, almost two years after he announced the national reconciliation policy in January 1987, Najibullah was unable to attract a single major figure of the resistance or prominent Afghan refugee to join the government. During 1988 two new provinces were created - Sar-e Pol in the north and Nuristan in the northeast - by carving out territory from adjoining provinces. In each case, the purpose appears to have been to create a new entity where an ethnic minority, the Hazaras and Nuristanis respectively, would dominate. This readjustment would guarantee representation in the new parliament for these ethnic groups. At the same time, the Sharq government abolished the special ministry for nationalities that carried connotations of a Soviet-style system. In February 1989 Sharq resigned from the government of Najibullah, a move underscoring the failure by Afghans to establish a government of national reconciliation. A resident of the Anar Dara district in the western Farah province, Sharq was prime minister in the Najibullah government from 1986 to 1990. He also served as spokesman for then prime minister Daud Khan and his Milli Ghurzang Party. Cabinet Office Incumbent Took office Left office Chairman of the Council of Ministers Mohammad Hasan Sharq 16 June 1988 21 February 1989 Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Wakil 16 June 1988 Minister of Defence Lieut. Gen. Shahnawaz Tanai 16 June 1988 Minister of Interior Maj. Gen. Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy 16 June 1988 Minister of State Security Gen. Ghulam Faruq Yaqubi 16 June 1988 Minister of Finance Hamidullah Tarzi 16 June 1988 Minister of Justice Muhammad Bashir Baghlani 16 June 1988 Permanent Representative to the United Nations Shah Muhammad Dost 16 June 1988 Minister of Communications General Mohammad Aslam Watanjar 16 June 1988 Minister of Commerce Mohammad Khan Jalallar 16 June 1988 Minister of Returnees Affairs Abdul Ghafur 16 June 1988 Minister of Tribal Affairs Sulaiman Layeq 16 June 1988 Minister of Planning Sultan Husain 16 June 1988 Minister of Rural Development Mohammad Asef Zaher 16 June 1988 Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform Muhammad Ghofran 16 June 1988 Minister of Public Health Abdul Fatah Najm 16 June 1988 Minister of Education Ghulam Rasul 16 June 1988 Minister of Higher Education Nur Ahmad Barits 16 June 1988 Minister of Mines, Industry Muhammad Ishaq Kawa 16 June 1988 Minister of Transport Muhammad Aziz 16 June 1988 Minister of Construction Nazar Muhammad 16 June 1988 Minister of Civil Aviation Pacha Gul Wafadar 16 June 1988 Minister of Light Industry, Foodstuffs Dost Muhammad Fazl 16 June 1988 Minister of Water, Power Raz Muhammad Paktin 16 June 1988 Minister of Information Ahmad Bashir Ruigar 9 July 1988 Minister without Portfolio Nematullah Pazhwak 16 June 1988 Gen. Ghulam Faruq Yaqubi Fazl Haq Khaliqyar Shah Muhammad Dost Sarjang Khan Jaji Adamec, Ludwig (2011). Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan. Scarecrow Press. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-0-8108-7815-0.