Afghanistan during the 20ths

King Amanullah

      

King of Afghanistan, 1919-29. Born in 1892, the son of Amir Habibullah and Sarwar Sultanah, the queen. When Amir Habibullah was assassinated in Jalalabad in February 1919, Amanullah Khan was governor of Kabul and in possession of the arsenal and the treasury. He was crowned in Kabul over the prior claims of his uncle Nasrullah, whom he denounced as a usurper and an accomplice in the murder of his father. King Amanullah (he assumed the title of king in 1926) was an ardent reformer and contemporary of like-minded rulers, Muhammad Reza in Iran and Kemal Ataturk in Turkey. He demanded a revision of the Anglo-Afgha agreements concluded by Amir Abdur Rahman which left Britain in charge of Afghanistan's foreign relations in exchange for protection from unprovoked Russian aggression and a subsidy in money and military materiel.

Flags of Afghanistan during:

 King Amanulla 1919

King Amanullah 1928

King of Afghanistan, 1929-33. Born in 1883, the son of Sardar Muhammad Yusuf Khan, he embarked on a military career. Appointed a brigadier in 1906, he was promoted to lieutenant general, naib salar, for his services in suppressing the Mangal revolt in December 1912. Appointed general, sipah salar, 1914.

He and other members of the Afghan court had accompanied Amir Habibullah to Jalalabad, the winter capital, and when the amir was assassinated in his sleep, he was arrested. Amir Amanullah exonerated him of any involvement and sent him to command the troops in Khost province. During the third Anglo-Afghan war, Nadir Khan led an army across the Afghan border into Waziristan and invested the British base at Thai.

This threatened to cause a general uprising among the "British" Afghans and Amir Amanullah appointed him minister of war in 1919, in which post he served until 1924, when he was appointed Afghan minister at Paris. He resigned two years later because of illness (or because he disagreed with King Amanullah's policies). Nevertheless, he remained in France where he was joined by his half-brother Muhammad Hashim Khan and his brother Shah Wall Khan.

After the abdication of King Amanullah in January 1929, Nadir left France for India and established himself at the Afghan frontier. He collected tribal support, including Waziri tribal forces from the Indian

Flag of Afghanistan during Nadir Shah : 1929

King of Afghanistan, 1933-73. Born on October 15, 1914, the only surviving son of Nadir Shah, he was educated at Kabul and in France. He was proclaimed king on November 8, 1933, within a few hours after his father's assassination and adopted the titleAl Mutawakkil Alelah, During the early period of his reign (1933-46), the young king reigned while his uncles Muhammad Hashim and Shah Mahmud ruled, holding the powerful position of prime minister. His cousin, Muhammad Daud, succeeded as prime minister from 1953 until 1963, when Zahir Shah forced his resignation.

In 1964 he promulgated a new constitution which excluded members of the royal family from certain government positions provided for a bicameral parliament, free elections, a free press, and the formation of political parties. It ushered in a period of unprecedentted political tolerance which was marred only by the intransigence of parliamentary representatives who could not establish a working coalition. The law on political parties was never ratified by the king, but parties were tolerated, althought not legally permitted, and numerous groups published their manifestors in privately-published newspapers and periodicals. Members of parliament were elected as independents and not members of a party, but parliament was stymied with political infighting.

Foreign aid from East and West kept flowing into the country, and Kabul experienced considerable growth. However, not all sectors of Afghan society benefitted from the economic development. Zahir Shah toured Afghanistan on several occaisions and frequently traveled abroad. During one of his trips abroad, his cousin Muhammad Daud staged a coup and established a republican government with himself as president.

Zahir Shah abdicated in August 1973 and has since lived in Italy. The impasse in the present war has led demands by some that the ex-king return to serve as head of an interim governmetn which would end the war and establish a representative government in Afghanistan. As a result of US invision which begun 7 october 2001 and downfall of taliban , he is once again on the move to take power.

Flag of Afghanistan during Mohammad Zahir Shah1933-1973

Born in 1919 and President of the Republic of Afghanistan from July 1973 until his assassination in April 1978 as a result of the Saur Revolution. He is the son of Sardar Muhammad Aziz, and was governor and general officer commanding of the Eastern Province (1934), Kandahar (1935), and commander of Central Forces (1939 47) stationed in Kabul and minister of defense in 1946. A minister of interior (1949-50) and prime minister (1953-63), he encouraged social reforms and in 1959 permitted women to abandon the veil, thus contributing to their emancipation and participation in the economic life of Afghanistan. He initiated two five-year plans (1956-61 and 1962-67) a seven-year plan in 1976, and relied for military and development aid on the Soviet Union. He demanded the independence of Pashtunistan , the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, which led to repeated crises with Pakistan and ended with his resignation in 1963. Ten years later Muhammad Daud staged a coup against his cousin, King Zahir, and in July 1973 proclaimed Afghanistan a republic. Whether he just wanted power or felt that the political liberalization during the democratic decade (1963-73) had failed to remedy the social and economic problems of Afghanistan is not clear. He relied on the support of leftists to consolidate his power, crushed the emerging Islamist movement, and in 1975 established his own "National Revolutionary Party". Financial support from Iran and the Arab Gulf states was to enable him to repay Soviet loans and improve his relations with the West. He and members of his fmily were assassinated on April 27, 1978, as a result of the Saur Revolt which brought People`s Democratic Party to power in Kabul.
Main Events:

July 17, 1973. Mohammed Daoud deposed his cousin, the king Mohammed Zahir Shah, and proclaimed republic.
July 18: Mohammad Daoud proclaimed President and defense minister.
August 24: Deposed King, Mohammad Zahir, announced his abdication.
Feb. 1974: A trade agreement was signed with Iran.
July 28, 1975: Afghan security forces captured a terrorist group in Panjshir which was armed by Pakistan.
Dec. 2, 1975: Afghanistan denied Pakistani charges that it had mobilized troops along its border with Pakistan.
Apr. 23, 1976: The League of Red Cross Societies said that about 100,000 people in Afghanistan had been left homeless by earthquakes, torrential rains, and floods.
Jun 7, 1976: Pakistan President Bhutto met with President Mohammad Daoud.
July 4, 1976: Indian Premier Indira Ghandi arrived in Kabul for a three-day visit.
Dec. 9, 1976: According to reports, more than 50 people had been arrested and accused of a plot to overthrow the government.
Feb 24, 1977: A new constitution approval.
March 29 : An agreement had been reached in Kabul to resume air links between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Nov. 16: Minister of Planning Ali Ahmad Khurram was assassinated in Kabul.
Feb. 21, 1978: President Mohammad Daoud left Kabul for Belgrade on an official visit to Yugoslavia.
Feb. 24: A trial of 25 people accused of plotting to assassinate President Daoud had begun in Kabul.
April 17: Mir Akbar Khaibar, one of the founders of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), was assassinated in Kabul.

Flag of Afghanistan during Daoud: 1973-1978

Member of the Khalq faction of the PDPA and, after the Saur Revolt, president of the Revolutionarv Council and primer minister of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Taraki was born of a Ghilzai nomad family on July 15, 1917 in Ghazni province. After attending a village school in Nawa, Ghazni province, he took night courses in Bombay and college credit in Kabul. He worked as a clerk for Abdul Majid Zabuli at the Pshtun Trading Company in Kandahar and at its office in Bombay. Because of his knowledge of English he was able to obtain employment in various Afghan ministries and at Bakhtar News Agency. In the 1950s he became known as an uthor and journalist, and in 1953 he served for a few months as press attache at the Afghan embassy in Washington. Subsequently he opened the "Nur Translation Bureau" in Kabul, which translated Dari and Pashto materials for various foreign missions in Kabul, including the American embassy.

Flag of Afghanistan during Noor M. Tarki:1978-1980

Born 1929 in Paghman, Kabul province. President of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from September 1979 until his assassination on December 27, 1979. He was of the Kharoti (Ghilzai Pashtun) tribe whose family came to Paghman in the 19th century. Educated in Afghanistan and the United States. He became a teacher and later principal of Ibe Sina School and Teachers Training school in Kabul. His conversion to Marxism is said to have occurred in 1964. He was elected to the 13th session of parli-ment (1969) as a representative from Paghman. During the republican period (1973-78) he successfully recruited followers in the army in competition with Parchami efforts. After the Saur Revolt he was appointed vice premier and minister of foreign affairs. In April 1979 he became prime minister and, after he ousted Nur Muhammad Taraki, he became president on September 16, 1979. Some observers called him the Afghan "Tito" because of his independence and nationalistic inclinations and many think he was a CIA agent. He was accused of responsibility in the assassination of thousands. Soviet special forces attacked him and his bodyguard in Darulaman, assassinating him on December 27, 1979. He was replaced by Babrak Karmal of the Parchami faction of the PDPA.

President and secretary general of the PDPA from January 1980 until May 1986, when Dr. Najibullah took over control of the Afghan government. Born in 1929 in Kabul, the son General Muhammad Husain . He was then elected vice-chairman of the revolutionary council and deputy prime minister of Afghanistan. In July 1978, the Khalqi regime purged the Parchami leadership, appointing Karmal Afghan ambassador to Czecho Slovakia. In August, 1978, he was accused of plotting against the Khalqi government and stripped of party membership and all his positions. Having being restored to power with Soviet assistance, he succeeded Hafizullah Amin on Dec. 27, 1979. He was an elegent actor , an expert propagandist and the best known of the Marxist leadership. Having been restored to power with Soviet support, he was unable to consolidate his power and, in 1986, he was replaced by Dr. Najibullah. He left Afghanistan for Moscow, but returned to Kabul in 1989. He died december1996 in Moscow and burried i Hairatan.

Flag of Afghanistan during Babrak Karmal: 1980-1986

President of the Republic of Afghanistan and general secretary of the PDPA since May 1986. Born in 1947 in Kabul of an Ahmadzai family. His father was Afghan trade agent in Peshawar. he was educated at Habibia high school and Kabul University graduating from the College of Medicine in 1975. He became a member of the Parcham faction of the PDPA in 1965, and was repeatedly arrested for his political activities. After the Saur Revolt he was appointed Afghan ambassador in Tehran (July-October 1978), in a move to get leading Parchamis out of the country, but was quickly dismissed with other Parchamis by the Taraki government, when they were suspected of plotting a coup. He remained abroad and returned to Kabul with Babrak Karmal after the ouster of Hafizullah Amin in the final days of December 1979. He held the position of general president of KHAD (1980-86)and in l986 replaced Babrak Karmal as secretary gener al of the PDPA. He purged the central committee and brought in new members and reorganized government in 1988 and 1990. In March 1990, the successfully withstood a Khalqi coup, headed by Shahnawaz Tanai , his defense minister.

Flag of Afghanistan during Najibullah: 1986-1992

continuation of civil war:

It is one of the longest and bloodiest war After the War War II. This War left more than 15,000 Soviets and about 1,000,000 Afghans death, many injured, more than 3 millions refugees all around the world . The entire economy and urban infrastructure of the country destroyed by the war. The Afghan Conflict became a real Civil War when the Afghan Mujaheddin became to the power of Kabul in 1992. More than 50,000 people were killed as results of fighting among Mujaheddin fractions in 1992. The Afghan Mujaheedin couldn't realize the expectation of Afghan people who hope that finally the peace will come their homeland. The leaders of Mujaheedin have been corrupted by long and beneficial war against the Kabul regime and Soviet troops. Ethnic differences and rivalry have resulted a bloody fractional fighting and crimes. Kabul become a rubbles and the residence of 2 million population became hostage of people who claim the victory against Soviet troops. The ethnic fighting between Pashtouns, Tajiks, Hazarahs and Uzbeks in different part of Afghanistan left thousands of causalities all around the country. Kabul with a multi-century history became the center of fractional fighting of Mujaheedin groups. Most of its building were destroyed and looted. Kabul University and Kabul Polytechnics Institute have been burned and closed. Kabul museum has been looted and all its treasuries have been moved by Mujaheedin's leaders and other commanders. So, "Taliban emerged as results of rape of Afghan people by Mujaheedin." 

On october 7th 2001 US launched attacks on Afghanistan:

Sebghatullah Mojadedi

April 1992- aug. 1992

President of Afghanistan under Mojahedin

Flag of Afghanistan during April 1992- oct. 1992

From left to right : Mohammadi, Mojadedi , Gulbodin , Rabani and Sayaf praying for peace

President of Afghanistan Oct. 1993- Sept. 1996

After the proclamation of Republican Regime in Afghanistan by President Mohammad Daoud in 1972, Rabani fled to Pakistan in 1974 after series of antigovernment activities inside the country. In Pakistan he sought the support of Pakistani government and the group of "Jamiat-e Islami". He carried out military activities during 1978-1992 within Afghanistan against Kabul regime. After the resignation of Najibullah in 1992, B. Rabani was elected as intrim president of Islamic Council of Mojahedin factions for 1 year by Mujaheddin executive council in October 1992. He didn't resign under previous agreement and remained in power until 1996. He spent most of his presidency in fighting with other Mujaheddin militia who forced to oust him from Kabul power. As results of fierce fighting between his chief of Command Ahmad Shah Masoud and rival Gullboddin Hekmatyar of Hezib-e Islami Afghanistan more than 50,000 people were killed in Afghanistan recently.

Flag of Afghanistan during Rabani

Hezeb-e Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Party of Afghanistan), Radical Islamic Movement

Birth: 1940, Emam Saheb/ Kundoz Province

The most powerful warlord during the Mujahedin`s battle against Kabul regime. The most destructive and antisocial element during the years 1970-1975. He carried out a number of terrorists acts within territory of Afghanistan during the Mohammad Dauod presidency and following regimes . Gollbuddin Attended two years of engineering faculty in Kabul University and involved in politics in late 1970 and became member of "Ikhwan-e Muslimin" (Muslims' Brothers) movement in 1970. He received most of military and financial aides from the United States government and CIA during the Afghan War against Kabul regime. After that Mujaheddin became to the power of Kabul regime, Gollbuddin has continued fighting against Raban's government and his Defense Minister Masoud . Now, he is against the United States and says that " US is the main enemy of Islam". By the American press consideration he has close tie with International Terrorist Organizations. He was elected Primer Minister by the government of Rabani in late 1995.

JONBISH MILI

Born: 1954, Khowja Dokoh/ Juzjan Province

He is one of the controversial figures in recent Afghan politics. Dostum was commander of the Juzjani " Dostum Militia" in late 1985 with 20,000 regular militia forces in northern provinces of Afghanistan. Then, he joined with Najib's government and fought against Mojahedin. He was awarded the " Hero of the Republic of Afghanistan" medal by President Dr. Najibullah. Abdur Rashid Dostum was a member of "Hezeb-e Watan/Homeland Party/ former PDPA. In 1992, he distanced from Dr. Najibullah and joined with Mujaheedin during the transition of power in Kabul in 1992. Gradually, he took distance from the central power in Kabul, the Mujahedeen government. Dostum established the "Jonbish Mili" organization. He has consolidated an independent North regions from the central power. His forces controled most of the northern provinces of Afghanistan. Once he united with the most extremist group of Mujahedeen like Golbedin.

Mahaz-e Mili-e Islami Afghanistan (National Islamic Front of Afghanistan)

Birth: 1932, Kabul/

Descendant of the Muslim Peer Baba Abdul Qadir Gailani (1077-1166) and hereditary head of the Qaderia Sufi fraternity. He succeeded to his position upon the death of his older brother, Sayed Ali, in 1964. Born in 1932 in Kabul, the son of Sayed Hasan Gailani, he was educated at Abu Hanifa College and the faculty of theology of Kabul University. He left Afghanistan after the Saur Revolution and founded the National Islamic Front (NIFA) in Peshawar. His movement is part of the seven-member alliance which in 1989 formed the "Afghan Interim Government." Although Sayed Gailani did not want any position in the interim government, he later accepted the post of supreme.

Organization: Hezeb-e Islami ( Islamic Party of Afghanistan)

Birth: 1919, Gandomak, Khugiani

Khalis fled to Pakistan because of his anti-reform activities against President Daoud in 1974. A member witt Gulbedin of Hezb-e Islami, he succeeded and formed his own group with the same name which fought the Kabul Government in som areas during the Afghan War against Kabul Regime. His military capabilities were not significant during the battle against the Kabul regime. He signed a number of times an alliance with other groups but never succeeded. At the present time he is unknown and lives outside the country.

Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayaf

Itehad-e Islami barai Azadi Afghanistan ( Islamic Union for Liberation of Afghanistan), a Radical Islamist Movement, member of "Whabi" mujahedin group supported by Saudi Arabia

Birth: 1946, Paghman/Kabul Province

Sayaf was member of the Islamic movement and in 1971 deputy of Burhan-ul Din Rabani in Pakistan. He was imprisoned from 1974 to 1980 for his anti-social activities in Afghanistan. He was freed by Kabul regime after Saour Revolution in 1980. He is ideologically close to the groups of Hekmatyar and Mawlawi Khalis. He never has succeeded to become the power of Kabul regime. At the present time Sayaf lives outside the country and has no role in the Afghan political solution.

Mawlawi Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi

Harakat-e Inqilab-e Islami (Islamic Revoultionary Movement)

Born 1921, Logar Province

In the 1950, he was one of the first members of the religious establishment who agitated against leftist movement in the country. Elected to the parliament in 1964 as a representative of Logar. In 1978, after "Saour Revolution", he fled to Pakistan and utilized a network of mawlawis to organize armed resistance against Kabul regime. In early 1980, his group was one of the largest Mojahedin group; but his group has less influence in the current political situation in the country. After the take over of Taliban power of Kabul, Nabi Mohammadi has become less active in the political and military elite of Afghanistan.

Ali Mazari

Born: 1935, Kandahar Province

Mazari educated in Shi'ia university in Iraq. He is called as Ayatollah by his supporter (such as Iranian Shi'ia Ayatollah). In 1980, he was elected chairman of the " Afgahn Shi'ia Alliance", supported by Iran Government and headquartered in Iran during the Jahad; but later it moved to Quetta (Pakistan). In June 1990, the shi'ia groups announced formation of a new organization, called "Hezeb-e Whadat/Unity Party". One of his known allies was Ali Mazari who led the alliance after the Mujaheddin became in power. Ali Mazari was killed in a conspiracy by Pashtun Mujaheddin groups in 1994. The alliance involved in many bloody clashes with Mujaheddin Pashtun's groups, particularly with Hezeb-e Islami Gulbudin Hekmatyar.

Ali Mazari educated in Shi'ia university in Iraq. He is called as Ayatollah by his supporter (such as Iranian Shi'ia Ayatollah). In 1980, he was elected chairman of the " Afghan Shi'ia Alliance", supported by Iran Government and headquartered in Iran during the Jihad; but later it moved to Quetta (Pakistan). In June 1990, the Shi'ia groups announced formation of a new organization, called "Hezeb-e Whadat/Unity Party". One of his known allies was Ali Mazari who led the alliance after the Mujaheddin became in power. Ali Mazari was killed in a conspiracy by Taliban group in 1994. The alliance involved in many bloody clashes with Mujaheddin Pashtun's groups, particularly with Hezeb-e Islami Golbedin. At the present time the leader of Hezib Whadat is Karim Khalili who jointly fight with the North Alliance forces.

Taliban

Leader: Mullah Mohammed Omar

The Taliban movement was formed in Kandahar in 1994 by Islamic students who take a radical approach to interpreting Islam. The Taliban captured Kabul in September 1996 from Mujaheedin regime. The government of Burhan-ul Din Rabani ousted. The Taliban government in Kabul has been recognized only by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Republic. The Taliban regime strongly have been supported by Pakistani military regime.