Life
Mangal was born in Laja Mangal, Paktia Province in Afghanistan, and belongs to the Mangal ethnic Pashtun tribe. He has a degree in literature from Kabul University.
A former member of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, Mangal served as a colonel in the Afghan army, and worked in the Ministries of Interior and Defence in the late 1970s, and later joined the insurrection fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. After the American led invasion in 2001, he was appointed a Regional Coordinator of the Constitutional Loya Jirga in Paktia.
Mangal served as governor of Paktika Province from March 2004 until March 2006, and then as governor of Laghman Province. On March 22, 2008, he was made the governor of Helmand Province, while former Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal replaced him in Laghman.
When appointed governor of Helmand, he was said to be “one of the most accomplished governors to have served Afghanistan since 2001”. The Washington Post attributes Mangal′s popularity in Helmand to his appointing competent district leaders and focusing on delivering basic services to the population, who also regard him as willing to stand up to the corrupt government in Kabul. Further, Mangal, whom the New York Times calls “ardently anti-opium”, succeeded in cutting back opium cultivation in Helmand by 33 percent in 2009. Mangal's subsidised wheat seed programme, giving an alternative to poppy crops, is reported to have reached 40,000 farmers.
Read more about this topic: Mohammad Gulab Mangal
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