Colonel General Abdul Kadir Dagarwal (; Dari/Pashto: ; 1944 – April 22, 2014) was an Afghan politician, diplomat, and a military officer in the Afghan Air Force who participated in the coup d'état that created the Republic of Afghanistan under the President Dawood Khan, and later directed the Afghan Air Force and Army Air Corps squadrons that attacked the Radio-TV station during the Saur Revolution. He served as the acting head of state for three days when the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) took power and declared the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, before handing over power to PDPA leader Noor Mohammad Taraki. He later served two terms as Minister of Defense, the first as part of the Taraki government from April to August 1978, and the latter as part of the Babrak Karmal government from 1982 to 1986. His second term took place during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Early life Abdul Qadir was born in Herat in the Herat Province of the Kingdom of Afghanistan in 1944. He was an ethnic Tajik whose family hailed from Herat Province. He went to the military school run by the Afghan National Army and was trained as the pilot, qualified to fly the Mig-15, Mig-21, and Su-7, in the Soviet Union. His education comes from the Soviet Union, having studied and excelled in Russian staff colleges. During his career in the Afghan Air Force, he joined Communist Party and later aligned with the Parcham (Flag faction). The Republican Revolution of 1973 In 1973, Colonel Qadir helped maneuver the coup d'état led by Prime Minister Dawood Khan with support by General Abdul Karim Mustaghni, who had been Chief of Staff of the armed forces. President Dawood Khan promised radical land reform, the legalisation of political parties and other reforms. The Parcham was offered four minister posts in Daoud's government. As a Parcham member, Qadir was nominated vice chief of the Afghan Air Force, while another Parcham supporter, Major Zia Mohammadzi Zia, was appointed chief of the Afghan Army. However, by 1974 Daoud removed and downgraded many of the Parcham ministers in the government. Qadir was thus downgraded to head of Kabul's Military abattoir. Many Parcham supporters, including Colonel Qadir, shifted allegiance to Khalq. In April 1978 Daoud and his hardline interior minister, General Abdul Qadir Khan Nuristani, launched a sharp government crackdown on the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan