Gulabzoy, Sayyed Mohammad (1951-)

A Zadran Pashtun from Paktia, Sayyed Mohammad Gulabzoy graduated from the Air Force College. A recruit of Amin to the PDPA, Gulabzoy was his close associate and his liaison member in the army. During the communist coup he was wounded and could not perform his assignment. Gulabzoy served as minister of communication in the Khalqi period, siding with Taraki when relations between Taraki and Amin became strained. After the failure of the anti-Amin conspiracy, Gulabzoy and others took refuge in the Soviet embassy. He served as a guide with the invading forces. Afterward he was appointed the minister of interior and a member of the central committee. With Soviet support and his own Sarindoy (the police force), this enterprising pro-Taraki Khalqi made the ministry more a stronghold of his own than a coordinated department of the Parchami government. Many disgruntled Khalqis joined him in various capacities. He aspired to leadership of the Khalqis, with an eye to the top state position, but Amin’s followers thought little of him. Gulabzoy is barely literate.