About Mohammad Najibullah Najibullah (Pashto: نجيب الله), originally just Najib, (August 6, 1947 – September 27, 1996) was the fourth and last President of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He is also considered the second President of the Republic of Afghanistan.Early years Najibullah was born in August 1947 to the Ahmadzai sub-tribe of the Ghilzai Pashtun tribe. Though born in Kabul, his ancestral village was located between the towns of Said Karam and Gardēz in Paktia Province. He was educated at Habibia High School and Kabul University, where he graduated with a doctor degree in medicine in 1975. Political career In 1965 Najibullah joined the Parcham faction of the Communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and in 1977 joined the Central Committee. In 1978 the PDPA took power in Afghanistan, with Najibullah a member of the ruling Revolutionary Council. However, the Khalq faction of the PDPA gained supremacy over his own Parcham faction, and after a brief stint as ambassador in Iran, he was dismissed from government and went into exile in Europe. He returned to Kabul after the Soviet intervention in 1979. In 1980, he was appointed the head of KHAD, the secret police. Under Najibullah's control, it is claimed that KHAD arrested, tortured and executed tens of thousands of Afghans. In 1981 he was promoted to full membership in the Politburo. Meanwhile, a change had taken place in Kabul. On May 4, 1986, under pressure from the Soviet Union, Babrak Karmal resigned as secretary general of the PDPA and was replaced by Dr. Najibullah. Karmal retained the presidency for a while, but power had shifted to Najibullah. His selection by the Soviets was clearly related to his success in running KHAD more effectively than the rest of the DRA had been governed.