Arif Khan (warlord)

{{Short description|Afghan Mujahideen warlord}}

{{Infobox military person

| name = Arif Khan

| birth_date =

| birth_place =

| death_date = April 4, 2000

| death_place = Peshawar, Pakistan

| death_cause = Assassination by gunshot

| allegiance = Islamic State of Afghanistan (defected)
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

| battles = War in Afghanistan{{KIA}}

}}

Arif Khan or Mohammad Arif Khan was a Mujahideen warlord in Afghanistan and Pashtun leader from the village of Zakhel. He was a military commander and the Taliban governor of Kunduz province.{{Cite book|last=Clements|first=Frank|title=Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia|url=https://archive.org/details/conflictafghanis00clem|url-access=limited|last2=Adamec|first2=Ludwig W.|date=2003|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-402-8|location=Santa Barbara, CA|pages=[https://archive.org/details/conflictafghanis00clem/page/n360 322]}} An account indicated that he might have served under or was associated with the militant commander Eshan-Sayad Mirza.{{Cite book|last=Bowersox|first=Gary W.|title=The Gem Hunter: True Adventures of an American in Afghanistan|date=2004|publisher=GeoVision, Inc.|isbn=0-9747323-1-1|location=Honolulu, HI|pages=113}}

Khan was reportedly killed on April 4, 2000.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/701257.stm|title=Afghan governor shot dead|access-date=24 April 2017}} His death came with the killing of top Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commanders. Khan was also accused of killing numerous tribal leaders in Kunduz in order to consolidate power.