He played a significant role in the coup in 1978 that killed the Afghan President Mohammad Daoud Khan, starting the Saur Revolution.

Colonel Aslam Watanjar was the Army commander on the ground during the coup, and his troops gained control of Kabul.

Colonel Abdul Qadir, the leader of the Air Force squadrons, also launched a major attack on the Arg Presidential Palace, in the course of which Mohammed Daoud Khan was killed.

The council's initial statement of principles, issued late in the evening of April 27, was a noncommittal affirmation of Islamic, democratic, and non-aligned ideals.

To assuage charges of weak performance in the military leadership, Taraki finally granted Watanjar the position of Minister of Defense.

Aslam Watanjar joined forces with Sarwari, Gulabzoy and others Khalqis in a plot against then Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin.

The presence in Soviet Red Army of Sarwari, Watanjar, and Gulabzoy might have influenced the officers not to respond to the invasion.