{{short description|Afghan general, provincial governor, and security chief}} {{Distinguish|Turrebaz Khan}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Turabaz Khan <br>{{nq|طره باز خان}} | image = General Turabaz Khan portrait Kabul circa 1940s.jpg | caption = General Turabaz Khan during his tenure as Chief of Security at the Ministry of Interior, Kabul. | birth_date = 1885 | birth_place = Tagab, Emirate of Afghanistan | death_date = 1982 | death_place = Kabul, Democratic Republic of Afghanistan | education = Madrasse-ye Ḥarbi-ye Sirājiyah (Royal Military College) | occupation = Military officer, government official | rank = Firqa Mishar | branch = Royal Afghan Army | service_years = c. 1909–1953 | office1 = Chief of Security, Ministry of Interior | term_start1 = 1942 | term_end1 = 1953 | office2 = Hakim-i-Ala (Governor) of the Eastern Province | term_start2 = 1939 | term_end2 = 1939 | office3 = Qūmāndān-e Kōtwālī (Commander of Police), Kabul | term_start3 = 1931 | term_end3 = 1939 | office4 = Sarhaddar (Military Governor) of Dakka | term_start4 = 1924 | term_end4 = 1930 | office5 = Commander of the Afridi Battalion | term_start5 = 1922 | term_end5 = 1922 | allegiance = Emirate of Afghanistan<br>Kingdom of Afghanistan | monarch = Amanullah Khan<br>Mohammad Nadir Shah<br>Mohammed Zahir Shah }}
'''Turabaz Khan''' ({{langx|ps|طره بازخان}}; 1885–1982) was an Afghan military officer and government official. A member of a Safi tribal family from Tagab, he served in the Afghan Army and held senior police, security, and provincial administrative posts during the reigns of King Amanullah Khan, King Mohammad Nadir Shah, and King Mohammad Zahir Shah. His appointments included commander of the Afridi Battalion, Sarhaddar (military governor) of Dakka, Commander of Police of Kabul, Chief of Security at the Ministry of Interior, and Hakim-i-Ala (provincial governor) of the Eastern Province.
== Career ==
=== Military education === Turabaz Khan was educated at the Madrasse-ye Ḥarbi-ye Sirājiyah (Royal Military College) in Kabul.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gregorian |first=Vartan |title=The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1969 |page=383}}</ref>
=== Service and appointments ===
thumb|left|upright=1|General Turabaz Khan (left) during a formal military parade, c. late 1940s–early 1950s.
In 1922, Turabaz Khan was appointed commander of the Afridi Battalion. From 1924 to 1930, he served as Sarhaddar (military governor) of Dakka.
In 1931, he was appointed Qūmāndān-e Kōtwālī (Commander of Police) of Kabul. British diplomatic reports from the same year indicate that he was promoted to the rank of ''Ghund Mishar'' (brigadier) and served, at least initially, in an acting capacity following the reassignment of Abdul Jamil Khan.<ref name="FOConfidential1931"/> The ''Salnama-ye Kabul'' (Kabul Yearbook) of 1937–1938 explicitly records him holding this position.<ref>{{cite book |title=Salnama-ye Kabul |trans-title=Kabul Yearbook |year=1937–1938 |publisher=Anjuman-e Adabi Kabul |location=Kabul |page=51 |language=Persian}}</ref>
He retained this position until his appointment as Hakim-i-Ala (provincial governor) of the Eastern Province in 1939.<ref name="WhoIsWho1975p257"/>
He later attained the higher rank of ''Firqa Mishar'' (major general).<ref name="WhoIsWho1975p257" /> In 1942, he was appointed Chief of Security at the Ministry of Interior.<ref name="Adamec2008p395" />
== Personal life ==
thumb|left|upright=1.1|General Turabaz Khan (centre) with his sons, from left to right: General Ghulam Siddiq Turabaz, Ghulam Sakhi Turabaz, and Ghulam Farouk Turabaz.
Turabaz Khan was married and had four children.
* '''Ghulam Sachi Turabaz''' served as Director of the Jabal al-Saraj Cement Factory and later as President of the Administrative Department at the Ministry of Mines and Industries.<ref name="Adamec2008p469" /> * '''Ghulam Farouk Turabaz''' served as Chargé d’Affaires at the Afghan Embassy in the United States in 1978.<ref>{{cite web |title=Afghanistan |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/91445.htm |access-date=2025-06-03 |website=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> * '''Ghulam Siddiq Turabaz''' served as an army general and was appointed a member of the first Loya Jirga of the Republic of Afghanistan in 1973.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Official Gazette: October 22, 1978 |journal=Official Gazette |publisher=Ministry of Justice, Democratic Republic of Afghanistan |date=October 22, 1978 |url=http://archive.org/details/azu_acku_serial_jq1761_a1_a34_v1978}}</ref> * '''Siddiqa Turabaz''' married Fazl Mohammad Khairzada, former Vice-President of Bank-i-Milli Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://w.lexvo.com/uwn/entity/e/Khair%20Mohammed%20Khan |title=Khair Mohammed Khan |website=Lexvo |access-date=29 July 2025}}</ref>
Turabaz Khan died in 1982 in Kabul. A crossroads near his residence, Char-Rahi Turabaz Khan (چهارراهی طره باز خان), is named after him.<ref name="Adamec2008p171" />
== References == <references>
<ref name="Adamec2008p171">{{cite book |last=Adamec |first=Ludwig W. |title=Biographical Encyclopedia of Afghanistan |publisher=Pentagon Press |year=2008 |isbn=9788182743212 |page=171 }}</ref>
<ref name="Adamec2008p395">{{cite book |last=Adamec |first=Ludwig W. |title=Biographical Encyclopedia of Afghanistan |publisher=Pentagon Press |year=2008 |isbn=9788182743212 |page=395 }}</ref>
<ref name="Adamec2008p469">{{cite book |last=Adamec |first=Ludwig W. |title=Biographical Encyclopedia of Afghanistan |publisher=Pentagon Press |year=2008 |isbn=9788182743212 |page=469 }}</ref>
<ref name="WhoIsWho1975p257">{{cite book |last=Adamec |first=Ludwig W. |title=Historical and Political Who's Who of Afghanistan, Volume 7 |publisher=Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt |year=1975 |isbn=9783201009218 |page=257 }}</ref>
<ref name="FOConfidential1931">{{cite book |title=Afghanistan: Foreign Office Confidential Print, 1922–1957 |series=British Documents on Afghanistan |volume=FO 402/14 |publisher=British Foreign Office |year=1931 |pages=151, 161–163 |url=https://archive.org/details/afghanistan-from-the-foreign-office-files/FO%20402-14/ }}</ref>
</references>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Turabaz}} Category:Pashtun military personnel Category:1885 births Category:Afghan military officers Category:1982 deaths Category:Afghan government officials Category:Afghan Civil War (1928–1929)