He trained as a soldier at the Army Cadet College of the Indian Army at Nowgaon in India for three years from 1979 to 1982 under an Indo-Afghan cooperation programme.[3] He was also an officer cadet for a year and a half[4] with the Keren Company of the Bhagat Battalion at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, one of 45 foreign cadets in the Keren Company. The Indian Military Academy trained cadets from a number of other countries in Asia and Africa. His fellow cadets nicknamed him "Sheru".[3] After graduating he was a lieutenant in the Afghan National Army.[5]