The third anniversary of the death of Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, an influential jihadi leader, was observed in Kabul on Wednesday.

Fahim was a close aide to Ahmad Shah Massoud, the national hero, who was assassinated in 2001. Fahim took the leadership of the Northern Alliance as and served as the defense and national security ministers as well as vice president during former president Hamid Karzai’s government. Ashraf Ghani succeeded Karzai in 2014.

Fahim was born in Omarz, a small village in the Panjshir Province of Afghanistan. He was the son of Abdul Matin from the Panjshir Valley. He is reported to have finished his studies in Islamic Sharia law at an Arabic institute in Kabul in 1977.

“He played the role of an advisor in a number of frontlines. Massoud used to take his advice because he had a better realization of different ethnic groups while they were fighting in the war at that time,” said Abdul Wadood, one of his close aides.

“After the Taliban regime was toppled, Marshal Fahim played a major role in formation of a new government and bringing peace to Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Hafiz Mansour, an MP.

Marshal Fahim died at the age of 57 in November 2009 due to diabetes.

The anniversary of his death was remembered in Badakhshan province on Wednesday where a number of local officials, tribal elders and residents of the province attended a ceremony is his honor.