WAD

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Wazarat-e Amaniat-e Dowlati (WAD) means the Ministry of State Security. It was the secret police of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and replaced KHAD in 1986, though many still called it KhAD. WAD lasted from January 9, 1986, until it was dissolved in April 1992. In 2002 it was followed by the NDS, and from 2021 by the GDI.

Size and role
- At its peak (1990), WAD had about 90,000 employees and a $160 million annual budget (1986 figures).
- It was in charge of security and the Kabul garrison and was sometimes still referred to as KhAD.

Key actions and events
- In 1987, WAD was behind terrorist attacks in Pakistan, including the Karachi car bombing and an attempted car bombing on the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, which killed more than 30 people.
- The 1986 National Reconciliation Act curtailed WAD powers, requiring officers to consult local police, shuras (councils), and the provincial/district attorney general offices before making arrests.
- WAD operatives attempted to assassinate Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in 1987 with a remote-controlled car bomb, wounding his bodyguards.
- The agency was involved in kidnapping activities, including kidnapping one of Massoud’s brothers in Peshawar, and sending WAD assassination teams to Panjshir Province to target Ahmad Shah Massoud.
- In 1989, WAD-led forces, including the Special Guard and the 904th Battalion, fought in the Battle of Jalalabad.
- In March 1990, a coup by Lieutenant-General Shahnawaz Tanai was stopped with help from the WAD-led Afghan National Guard, General Khushal Peroz, and Mohammad Aslam Watanjar.

Civil war and legacy
- In the 1990s civil war, ex-KHAD/WAD officers were recruited by Hezb-i-Islami, the Northern Alliance, and the Taliban to operate as moles behind enemy lines.
- WAD largely acted as the intelligence arm of the Northern Alliance during the civil war, continuing to influence events even after the government fell in 1992.