Afghan Biographies

Yaftali, Ahmad Zia Maj Gen


Name Yaftali, Ahmad Zia Maj Gen
Ethnic backgr. Tajik
Date of birth
Function/Grade Ex Wolesi Jirga Member 2018 MP MNA Badakshan
History and Biodata

2. Previous Functions:
Head of the Health Department of ANA in 20030921.
National Military Hospital Kabul (NMH) ANA Surgeon General (20101229 fired )
Wolesi Jirga Member 2018 MP MNA Badakshan

3. Biodata:
MajGen Ahmad Zia Yaftali son of Abdul Salam, from Badakhshan, was appointed Head of the Health Department of ANA in 20030921. Later he became the Afghan National Army (ANA) Surgeon General and Director of Kabul's Main Military 400-bed Hospital (Dawood National Military Hospital is the premier hospital of the Afghan security forces, akin to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the U.S.)

Surgeon General Ahmad Zia Yaftali was being removed from his post as part of an investigation into the disappearance of U.S.-donated medicines and pharmaceutical supplies meant to keep the new troops and police healthy. Yaftali, was accused by U.S. military officials of pilfering up to $153 million worth of U.S.-funded pharmaceuticals and failing to ensure that Afghan soldiers and police received basic medical care. Gen. Yaftali has maintained his innocence.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai issued a decree replacing Gen. Yaftali December 2010, but he continues to collect a salary, mostly paid for with U.S. money, and hasn't been charged.

U.S. military officials alleged that the hospital's staff was selling U.S.-bought pharmaceuticals in Kabul's bazaars and replacing them with counterfeits. In dozens of surgeries, patients would be operated on without medication or sedatives, according to U.S. mentors.

Three officials from the country's top medical facility, Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan  National Military Hospital in Kabul, have been fired. It's unclear just how much has vanished of the $42 million worth of medical goods the U.S. has donated this year, and whether any Afghan soldiers have died as a result. (20101223). The Afghan Defense MinisterGen. Wardak warned that prosecuting Gen. Yaftali would be difficult, saying the surgeon general was too politically connected, according to U.S. officials involved in the issue. Gen. Yaftali fought against the Taliban in the 1990s alongside other ethnic Tajiks who have since became prominent government figures.

But General Yaftali strongly dismissed the allegations. He said the medical aid was disappeared before reaching their office. Yaftali has also been dismissed following a suicide attack earlier this December 2010 on a military training centre in Kabul. Five officers of the Afghan National Army died and 14 soldiers were injured in the attack. Lt Gen Yaft Ali has denied accusations by the defence ministry that he neglected soldiers wounded in the attack. He also denies nepotism, embezzlement and racketeering. However, General Ahmad Zia Yaftali was dismissed after he was blamed for having hand in corruption and misusing the army facilities.
 

A U.S. congressman said funding for the Afghan government could be withheld if a congressional investigation finds no changes at Afghanistan's main military hospital following allegations of corruption and deadly neglect there.(20111215)
 

High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption Strategy said 20120213 that investigation about embezzlement of $42 million at Sardar Mohammad Dawood Khan Hospital has been launched.

Former Health Director of Afghan Defense Ministry, Zia Yaftali, sentenced to six months in prison by an anti-corruption court on May 12, 2019. In spite of being sentenced to six months in prison, Zia Yaftali, an MP from Badakhshan, attends the Parliament meetings. (20190517)
 

Background:
The National Military Hospital Kabul (aka Charsad Bestar Hospital) originally consisted of two separate Soviet-built structures from the 1970s and was built in Wazir Akhbar Khan area. There are four regional Military Hospitals built in the cities of Herat, Gardez, Kandahar, and Mazar-e-Sharif and these have small emergency departments but are not staffed with trained emergency doctors. Brig. Gen. Muhammad Zaman Ghairatmal is the head of the Sardar Muhammad Daud Khan National Military hospital in Kabul (20100804).

Dr. Ahmad Zia Yaftali received 5,508 votes in Wolesi Jirga Election 2018 and got a seat in WJ 2018.

Last Modified 2019-05-17
Established 2010-02-13