Following the resignation of former minister of defense Abdullah Habibi, President Ashraf Ghani announced the appointment of Tariq Shah Bahrami as acting minister of defense.
 
Bahrami officially started his new job on Tuesday.
 
It is expected that Bahrami would address the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) in the near future in an attempt to seek a vote of confidence from the lawmakers.
 
However, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) is reluctant to give details about Bahrami's career background.
 
But the information available shows that Bahrami is 50 years old and he is from Laghman province.
 
Bahrami’s military career has faced a number of ups and downs. Bahrami completed his education at Kabul Military School and later he entered the National Military Academy of Afghanistan.
 
In 1986 Bahrami graduated from the academy and started his career with the Air Force in Shindand Airfield in Herat province.
 
He also worked in other units of the military. After the establishment of the new political system, Bahrami started working as secretary of office of Munir Mangal, the former commander of Kabul Army Corps.
 
Later he was promoted to commander of 444 Special Unit of the Afghan National Police. During the same period, he went to Britain on a scholarship.
 
After returning home from Britain, Bahrami was jobless for a while, but was eventually hired in the office of the National Security Council (NSC) and after a short time, he started his new job as head of Tawheed Center at the Presidential Palace, which was established by President Ashraf Ghan. His job was liaison for provincial security officials and the president’s office.
 
After working for two years at the NSC, Bahrami was first promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, then to Colonel, later to Brigadier General and finally to Major General.
 
Recently, Bahrami was appointed as deputy minister of interior for security.
 
“He was promoted from the rank of colonel when he was commander of police units. He was promoted to colonel then to general and the day when he was appointed as deputy minister of interior for security, he was promoted to major general, while he lacks the required experience for the ministry of defense,” said former deputy head of National Directorate of Security (NDS) Gharzhai Khawkhugai.
 
“They [those who are appointed as defense ministers] must be authorized full responsibility and should be tasked to revive the army,” former deputy minister of interior, Mirza Mohammad Yarmand, said.
 
However, the surprising issue is that Bahrami’s colleagues after working in the army for twenty years have not been promoted to the rank of colonel.
 
“As I know him, he is an active person and officer. He has served in the Ministry of Defense,” the Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said.
 
Claims have been lodged in the past that soldiers who have fought on the battlefields for years have not been promoted, but instead those who have spent a comfortable life in Kabul are promoted to the rank of general because of their relations with high-ranking officials.
 
Last year, the European Union Special Representative to Afghanistan, Franz-Michael Skjold Mellbin, said the rank of general in Afghanistan is granted by money, not on merit based.
 
"How do you become a general or colonel in the Afghan security forces? Well, that is not based on fighting skills, that is based on the size of your wallet and that doesn't change. You are going to have that problem. I also raised that conversation, something that I like to remind the people, that is how many generals does Afghanistan have," Mellbin said at an event last year.