KHAD is the Secret Intelligence services of?

The correct answer is Afghanistan.
KHAD (an acronym for Khadamat-e Aetla'at-e Dawlati, which translates to State Information Services) was the primary security and intelligence agency of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Established in 1980 during the Soviet-Afghan War, it served as the nation's secret police and intelligence arm until it was reorganized into a ministry in the late 1980s.

KHAD was created in January 1980, shortly after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, with significant assistance from the Soviet KGB. It was designed to replace previous, less effective intelligence bodies like the AGSA and KAM. Under the leadership of its most famous director, Mohammad Najibullah (who later became the President of Afghanistan), KHAD was modeled directly after Soviet intelligence structures to ensure the survival of the pro-Soviet government in Kabul.

Role and Responsibilities

As the "sword and shield" of the Afghan communist party (the PDPA), KHAD's reach was extensive. Its primary missions included:

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  Internal Security: Monitoring and suppressing political opposition and dissent within the country.

  
  
   
  
  


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  Counter-Insurgency: Identifying and neutralizing Mujahideen fighters and their urban networks.

  
  


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  Foreign Intelligence: Gathering information on regional actors, particularly focusing on activities in neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

  
  


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  Propaganda and Infiltration: Infiltrating rebel groups to sow discord and spreading pro-government information among the tribes.

  
  

Rebranding to WAD

In 1986, reflecting its growing power and size, KHAD was elevated to the status of a full government ministry and renamed WAD (Wazarat-e Amaniat-e Dowlati or Ministry of State Security). Despite this official name change, most Afghans and international observers continued to refer to the agency as KHAD. By this time, it had grown from a small group of operatives into a massive organization with nearly 100,000 employees and paid informants.

Legacy and Successors

KHAD became notorious for its brutal methods, including arbitrary arrests and the use of torture, which were documented by various human rights organizations during the 1980s. Following the fall of the communist government in 1992, the agency was officially dissolved. However, many of its trained personnel later found roles in the various intelligence factions that emerged during the Afghan Civil War.

In the post-2001 era, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) was established as Afghanistan's primary intelligence agency. While the NDS was built with Western assistance (specifically from the CIA), historians often view it as the modern institutional successor to the intelligence traditions established by KHAD, albeit under a different ideological framework.