Munir Mohamad Mangal ‑ an Afghan general whose professional military career spanned more than 40 years – passed away on May 2, 2020 after contracting Covid-19.
Mangal served in high-level military and government positions, most latterly as the Commander of the Afghan National Police, before his retirement in 2016.
Mangal was born in Samkanay District, Paktia Province, Afghanistan, in 1950. He was sent to Kabul, where he attended primary and military school. Mangal then went to the Soviet Union, where he completed a master's degree in military affairs.
In 1972, Mangal began his professional military career as a lieutenant in a Kabul-based artillery division. He rose to serve in both military positions under several Afghan governments over the course of his four decades as an officer in the Afghan Armed Forces, especially during the American-backed governments in the 2000s. Following the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan and the overthrow of the Taliban, Mangal helped to form the new Afghan National Army and served as a Corps Commander. He also became Deputy Minister of Interior for security.
Most recently, General Mangal was appointed Commander of the Afghan National Police. He was noted for careful planning in order to keep casualties with the National Police as low as possible. In one instance, Mangal and his colleague, General Ghulam Mujtaba Patang, were traveling in helicopter from Kandahar to Kabul over portion of Ghazni province that was controlled by the Taliban, when the aircraft malfunctioned and began to lose stability and altitude. The pilot asked if they should land in a Taliban-controlled area, but Mangal refused and ordered him to continue flying to Kabul, despite the risk of a crash, saying, "It's better to die in a crash than be taken hostage by the Taliban," according to Patang. Mangal retired from the National Police in 2016.
General Munir Mangal died from Covid-19 at his home in Kabul on May 2, 2020, at the age of 70. He is the highest-profile victim of the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan to date, as well as the second member of his immediate family to die from coronavirus during the pandemic.
One of his sons, who was a doctor, also died from the virus. Mangal was survived by his wife, two daughters, four sons, and 13 grandchildren.