Mohammed Daoud Khan ( ps, ), also
romanized
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan (18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978), was an
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
politician and
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
who served as
prime minister of Afghanistan
The prime minister of Afghanistan ( ps, د افغانستان لومړی وزیر; prs, رئیسالوزرای افغانستان) is the head of government of Afghanistan. The position was created in 1927 as an official appointed by the Kin ...
from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the
1973 Afghan coup d'état
The 1973 Afghan coup d'état was led by Army General and prince Mohammed Daoud Khan against his cousin, King Mohammed Zahir Shah, on 17 July 1973, which resulted in the establishment of the Republic of Afghanistan under a one-party system led by ...
which overthrew the
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
, served as the first
president of Afghanistan
The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was constitutionally the head of state and head of government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) and Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Armed Forces.
On 15 August 2021, as t ...
from 1973 to 1978, establishing an autocratic
one-party system
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
.
Born into the
Afghan royal family
This article lists the heads of state of Afghanistan since the foundation of the first modern Afghan state, the Hotak Empire, in 1709.
History
The Hotak Empire was formed after a successful uprising led by Mirwais Hotak and other Afghan trib ...
and addressed by the prefix "
Sardar
Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been u ...
", Khan started as a provincial governor and later a
military commander
The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
before being appointed as Prime Minister by his cousin, King
Mohammed Zahir Shah
Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan s ...
. Having failed to persuade the King to implement a one-party system, Khan
overthrew the monarchy with the backing of
Afghan Army
The Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be t ...
officers, and proclaimed himself the first President of the
Republic of Afghanistan
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
.
Khan was known for his
autocratic rule,
and for his educational and progressive social reforms. Under his regime, he headed a purge of
communists
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...
in the government, and many of his policies also displeased religious conservatives and liberals who were in favor of restoring the multiparty system that existed under the monarchy. Social and economic reforms implemented under his ruling were successful, but his foreign policy led to tense relations with neighbouring countries. In 1978, he was deposed and assassinated during the
1978 Afghan coup d'état, led by the Afghan military and the communist
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), ''Hezb-e dimūkrātĩk-e khalq-e Afghānistān'' was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 Afgha ...
(PDPA). His body was discovered 30 years later and was identified by a small golden
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
he always carried. He received a
state funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...
.
Early life
Khan was born in
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
,
Emirate of Afghanistan
The Emirate of Afghanistan also referred to as the Emirate of Kabul (until 1855) ) was an emirate between Central Asia and South Asia that is now today's Afghanistan and some parts of today's Pakistan (before 1893). The emirate emerged from th ...
, the eldest son of the diplomat Prince
Mohammed Aziz Khan
Sardar Mohammed Aziz Khan ( ps, ) (1877 – June 6, 1933) was an Afghan prince and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Emirate of Afghanistan, and as Ambassador of the Kingdom of Afghanistan to Nazi Germany, until his ass ...
(1877–1933; an older half-brother of King
Mohammed Nadir Shah
Mohammed Nadir Shah ( Persian and ps, محمد نادر شاه – born Mohammed Nadir Khan; 9 April 1883 – 8 November 1933) was King of Afghanistan from 15 October 1929 until his assassination in November 1933. Previously, he served as Mini ...
) and his wife, Khurshid
Begum
Begum (also begüm, bagum, begom, begam, baigum or beygum) is a royal and aristocratic title from Central and South Asia. It is the feminine equivalent of the title ''baig'' or '' bey'', which in Turkic languages means "higher official". It us ...
. He lost his father to an assassination in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
in 1933, while his father was serving as the Afghan Ambassador to Germany. He and his brother Prince Naim Khan (1911–1978) then came under the tutelage of their uncle
Mohammad Hashim Khan
Sardar Mohammad Hashim Khan (1884 – 26 October 1953) was a political figure in Afghanistan.
Life
He was the younger brother of King Mohammed Nadir Shah and the elder brother of Sardar Shah Mahmud Khan and Sardar Shah Wali Khan. Hashim put in ...
(1884–1953). Daoud proved to be an apt student of politics.
Educated in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, he served as a senior administrator in the
Kingdom of Afghanistan
The Kingdom of Afghanistan ( ps, , Dǝ Afġānistān wākmanān; prs, پادشاهی افغانستان, Pādešāhī-ye Afġānistān) was a constitutional monarchy in Central Asia established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Af ...
, serving as Governor of the Eastern Province in 1934-35 and in 1938–39, and was Governor of
Kandahar Province
Kandahār ( ps, ; Kandahār, prs, ; ''Qandahār'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southern part of the country, sharing a border with Pakistan, to the south. It is surrounded by Helmand in the west, Uruzgan ...
from 1935 to 1938. His father died when Daoud was 24.
In 1939, Khan was promoted to Commander of the Central Forces.
As commander, he led Afghan forces against the
Safi during the
Afghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947
The Afghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947 or the Khost disturbances were a series of tribal revolts in the Kingdom of Afghanistan by Zadran, Safi and Mangal tribesmen which lasted from February 1944 to January 1947. The causes of the revolts la ...
.
From 1946 to 1948, he served as
Defense Minister
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
, then
Interior Minister
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
from 1949 to 1951. In 1948, he served as Afghan Ambassador to France.
In 1951, he was promoted to General and served in that capacity as Commander of the
Central Corps
The 201 Khalid Ibn Walid Corps is one of the eight corps of the Islamic Emirate Army established in October 2021 and headquartered in Laghman Province, Laghman. The current Chief of Staff is Abdul Rahman Mansoori.
The conventional corps of the Is ...
of the
Afghan Armed Forces
("The land belongs to Allah, the rule belongs to Allah")
, founded = 1997
, current_form =
, branches =
* Afghan Army
* Afghan Air Force
, headquarters = Kabul
, website =
, commander-in-chi ...
in Kabul from 1951 to 1953.
Royal Prime Minister
Khan was appointed
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
in September 1953 through an intra-family transfer of power, replacing
Shah Mahmud Khan
Sardar Shah Mahmud Khan (Pashto/Dari: سردار شاه محمود خان – b:1890 d: 27 December 1959) was the Prime Minister of Afghanistan from May 1946 to 7 September 1953, under King Mohammed Zahir Shah's monarchy. He was from the Pashtun ...
. His ten-year tenure was noted for his foreign policy turn to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, the completion of the
Helmand Valley project, which dramatically improved living conditions in southwestern Afghanistan, as well as tentative steps towards the emancipation of women, giving women a higher public presence, which led to significant amounts of freedom and educational opportunities for them.
With the creation of an independent
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
in August 1947, Prime Minister Daoud Khan had rejected the
Durand Line
The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...
, which had been accepted as international border by successive Afghan governments for over a half a century. Khan supported a nationalistic reunification of the Pakistani
Pashtun people
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
with Afghanistan, but this would have involved taking a considerable amount of territory from the new nation of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and was in direct opposition to an older plan of the 1940s whereby a confederation between the two countries was proposed. The move further worried the non-Pashtun populations of Afghanistan such as the minority
Hazara,
Tajik, and
Uzbek, who suspected his intention was to increase the Pashtuns' disproportionate hold on political power.
Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtun, independence activist, and founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar ...
(founder of
Khudai Khidmatgar
Khudai Khidmatgar ( ps, خداۍ خدمتګار; literally "servants of God") was a predominantly Pashtun nonviolent resistance movement known for its activism against the British Raj in colonial India; it was based in the country's North-West ...
movement), stated "that Daoud Khan only exploited the idea of reunification of Pashtun people to meet his own political ends. The idea of reunification of Pashtun people never helped Pashtuns and it only caused trouble for Pakistan. In fact it was never a reality". Moreover, Daoud Khan's project for the reunification of the Pashtun people failed to gain any support from
Pashtuns
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
In 1960, Khan sent troops across the poorly-marked Durand Line into the
Bajaur Agency
Bajaur District ( ps, باجوړ ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, then during restructuring that merged ...
of Pakistan in an attempt to manipulate events in that area and to press the Pashtunistan issue, but the Afghan forces were defeated by the Pakistani Tribals. During this period, the propaganda war from Afghanistan, carried on by radio, was relentless. In 1961, Daoud Khan made another attempt to invade Bajaur with larger Afghan army this time. However, Pakistan employed
F-86 Sabres
The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...
jets which inflicted heavy casualties against the Afghan army unit and the tribesmen from
Kunar province
Kunar (Pashto: ; Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. Its population is estimated to be 508,224. Kunar's major political groups include Wahhabis or Ahl-e- Ha ...
who were supporting the Afghan army. Several Afghan soldiers were also captured and were paraded in front of international media, which in turn caused embarrassment for Daoud Khan.
In 1961, as a result of his policies and support to militias in areas along the Durand Line, Pakistan closed its borders with Afghanistan and the latter severed ties, causing an economic crisis and greater dependence on the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. The USSR became Afghanistan's principal trading partner. Within a few months, the USSR sent jet
airplane
An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...
s,
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
s,
heavy
Heavy may refer to:
Measures
* Heavy (aeronautics), a term used by pilots and air traffic controllers to refer to aircraft capable of 300,000 lbs or more takeoff weight
* Heavy, a characterization of objects with substantial weight
* Heavy, ...
and
light artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
, for a heavily discounted price tag of $25 million, to Afghanistan.
As a result of continued resentment against Daoud's
autocratic rule, close ties with the USSR and economic downturn because of the blockade imposed by Pakistan, Daoud Khan was asked to resign. Instead of resigning, Daoud Khan requested King
Zahir Shah
Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan s ...
to approve new 'one-party constitution' proposed by him which would in turn increase Daoud Khan’s already considerable power. Upon rejection, Daoud Khan angrily resigned.
The crisis was finally resolved with his forced resignation in March 1963 and the re-opening of the border in May. Pakistan continued to remain suspicious of Afghan intentions and Daoud's policy left a negative impression in the eyes of many Tajiks who felt they were being disenfranchised for the sake of
Pashtun nationalism
Pashtun nationalism ( ps, پښتون ملتپالنه) generally refers to the idea that Pashtuns must always be united to preserve their culture and defend their homeland against any oppressor. It propagates the view that Muslims are not a nation ...
. He was succeeded by
Mohammad Yusuf.
In 1964, King Zahir Shah introduced a
new constitution, for the first time excluding all members of the Royal Family from the Council of Ministers. Khan had already stepped down. In addition to having been Prime Minister, he had also held the portfolios of Minister of Defense and Minister of Planning until 1963.
President of the Republic
![Daudkhan003](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Daudkhan003.jpg)
Khan was unsatisfied with King Zahir Shah's constitutional parliamentary system and lack of progress. He planned rebellion for more than a year before he, on 17 July 1973, seized power from the King in a
bloodless coup
A nonviolent revolution is a revolution conducted primarily by unarmed civilians using tactics of civil resistance, including various forms of nonviolent protest, to bring about the departure of governments seen as entrenched and authoritari ...
, backed by a large number of army officers who were loyal to him, facing no resistance.
Departing from tradition, and for the first time in Afghan history, he did not proclaim himself ''
Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
'', establishing instead a
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
with himself as
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
. The role of pro-communist
Parchamite
Parcham (Pashto and prs, پرچم, ) was the name of one of the factions of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, formed in 1967 following its split and led for most of its history by Babrak Karmal and Mohammed Najibullah. The basic id ...
officers in the coup led to him receiving the nickname "''Red Prince''" by some.
King Zahir Shah's constitution establishing a parliament with elected members and the separation of powers was replaced by a now largely nominated
loya jirga
A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...
(meaning "grand assembly"). The parliament was disbanded.
Although he was close to the Soviet Union during his prime ministership, Khan continued the Afghan policy of
non-alignment with the Cold War superpowers. Nor did he bring drastic pro-Soviet change to the economic system.
In Khan's new cabinet, many ministers were fresh faced politicians, and only Dr Abdul Majid was a ministerial carryover from Khan's Prime Minister era (1953-1963); Majid was Minister of Education from 1953 to 1957, and from 1973 was appointed Minister of Justice until 1977. Initially about half of the new cabinet were either current members, former members or sympathizers of the
PDPA, but over time their influence would be eradicated by Khan.
A coup against Khan, which may have been planned before he took power, was repressed shortly after his seizure of power. In October 1973,
Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal
Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal ( fa, محمد هاشم میوندوال; 12 March 1921 – 1 October 1973) was an Afghan politician during the reign of Zahir Shah.
Biography
After graduating from high school, Mohammad Hashim became a journalist, edit ...
, a former Prime Minister and a highly respected former diplomat, was arrested in a coup plot and died in prison before his trial set for December 1973. This was at a time when Parchamites controlled the Ministry of Interior under circumstances corroborating the widespread belief that he had been tortured to death by the leftists. According to one account, Daoud Khan planned to appoint Maiwandwal as prime minister, leading to the Parchamite Minister of Interior, Faiz Mohammad, along with fellow communists, framing Maiwandwal in a coup plot, then torturing him to death without Daoud Khan's knowledge.
Louis Dupree wrote that Maiwandwal, one of few Afghan politicians with an international reputation, could have been a leader in a democratic process and therefore a target for communists. One of the army generals arrested under suspicion of this plot with Maiwandwal was
Mohammed Asif Safi
General Mohammed Asif Safi (1923 — July 26, 2009) (Pashto language, Pashto:تور نجنرال اركا نحرب محمد آصف صافي) was an Army General in the Afghan National Army during King Muhammed Zahir Shah, Zahir Shah's rule in Af ...
, who was later released. Khan personally apologized to him for the arrest.
In 1974 he signed one of two economic packages that aimed to greatly increase the capability of the Afghan military. At this time, there were increasing concerns that Afghanistan lacked a modern army comparable to the militaries of Iran and Pakistan.
In 1975, his government
nationalized
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...
all banks in Afghanistan, including
Da Afghanistan Bank
(DAB, ps, د افغانستان بانک; prs, بانک مرکزی افغانستان) is the central bank of Afghanistan. It regulates all banking and money handling operations in Afghanistan. The bank currently has 46 branches throughout the ...
, Afghanistan's
central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union,
and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...
.
Khan wanted to lessen the country's dependence on the Soviet Union and attempted to promote a new foreign policy. In 1975 he visited some countries in the Middle East, including
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, all of which were anti-Soviet states,
to ask for aid,
He also visited
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Regarding the
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
summit in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , Khan said that
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
"only pretends to be non-aligned."
Surprisingly, he did not renew the Pashtunistan agitation; relations with Pakistan improved thanks to interventions from the US and the
Shah of Iran
This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...
. These moves alerted the Soviets.
Constitution of 1977
In 1977, he established his own political party, the
National Revolutionary Party, which became the focus of all political activity. In January 1977, a
loya jirga
A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...
approved a new constitution. It wrote in several new articles and amended others - one of these was the creation of a
presidential one-party system of government.
He also began to moderate his socialist policies, although the 1977 constitution had a nationalist bend in addition to previous socialism and Islam.
In 1978, there was a rift with the PDPA. Internally he attempted to distance himself from the communist elements within the coup. He was concerned about the tenor of many communists in his government and Afghanistan's growing dependency on the Soviet Union. These moves were highly criticized by
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, which feared that Afghanistan would soon become closer to the West, especially the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
; the Soviets had always feared that the United States could find a way to influence the government in Kabul.
During his latter years in charge, his purge of communists in his government strained his relations with them, while his desire for one person rule created conflicts with the liberals who had been in charge during the monarchy. At the same time, his persecution of religious conservatives engendered enmity with them and their followers as well.
Relations with Pakistan
As during his time as Prime Minister, Daoud Khan again pressed on the question of
Pashtunistan
Pashtunistan ( ps, پښتونستان, lit=land of the Pashtuns) is a historical region in Central Asia and South Asia, inhabited by the indigenous Pashtuns, Pashtun people of Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Wherein Pashtun culture, the Pashto ...
, again leading to sometimes tense relations with Pakistan.
Daoud hosted General Secretary of the
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...
Khan Abdul Wali Khan
Khan Abdul Wali Khan ( ps, خان عبدالولي خان; 11 January 1917 – 26 January 2006) was a Pakistani secular democratic socialist and Pashtun leader, and served as president of Awami National Party. Son of the prominent Pashtun nat ...
,
Ajmal Khattak, Juma Khan Sufi, Baluch guerrillas, and others. Khan's government and forces also commenced training of anti-Pakistani groups to conduct militant action and sabotage in Pakistan. The campaign was significant enough that even one of Bhutto's senior colleagues, minister of interior and head of the provincial branch of
Bhutto's party of/in the then-
North-West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...
(renamed
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
in 2010),
Hayat Sherpao
Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao ( Urdu: حيات محمد خان شيرپاؤ; 1 February 1937 – February 8, 1975), simply known as Hayat Sherpao, was a left-wing intellectual and socialist, serving as the 15th Governor of North West Frontier P ...
, was killed, ostensibly on the orders of the later-acquitted Awami Party. As a result, Afghanistan's already strained relationship with Pakistan further dipped and Pakistan likewise started similar kinds of cross-border interference. By 1975,
Pakistani Prime Minister
The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pakist ...
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and Politician, statesman who served as ...
, through its
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
(ISI), had begun to engage in promoting a
proxy war
A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities. In order for a conflict to be considered a pr ...
in Afghanistan.
Since coming to power, under pressure from the PDPA and to increase domestic Pashtun support, Khan took a stronger line on the Pashtunistan issue and promoted a proxy war in Pakistan. Trade and transit agreements with Pakistan were subsequently severely affected.
The year 1975 was a watershed in Afghan-Pakistan relations. Pakistan blamed Afghanistan for unrest in
Bajaur agency
Bajaur District ( ps, باجوړ ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, then during restructuring that merged ...
and the bombing of a
PIA B707 at Islamabad airport in 1975.
The 130 passengers of PIA B707 had deplaned before the explosion took place and thus no one was harmed in the explosion inside the aircraft.
At the same time, Afghanistan also faced several short lived uprisings in retaliation in eastern Afghanistan and in
Panjshir valley
The Panjshir Valley (also spelled Panjsher or Darah-I-Panjshir; Pashto/Dari: – ''Dare-ye Panjšēr''; literally ''Valley of the Five Lions'') is a valley in northeastern Afghanistan, north of Kabul, near the Hindu Kush mountain range. It is di ...
, which Afghanistan blamed on Pakistan. There was also deployment of additional troops by both the countries along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
The same year Kabul was also quietly negotiating with Islamabad to defuse the tensions between the two countries.
In early 1976, relations between the two countries improved and the leaders of the two countries, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Douad Khan, exchanged visits. Daoud Khan was also worried about the growing power of communists within his government so he started improving his relations with Pakistan and Iran.
The same year Pakistan also provided aid to Afghanistan to help alleviate the suffering caused by earthquake and floods in northern Afghanistan. This gesture by Pakistan had helped mollify Afghan public opinion about Pakistan.
By October 1976, the head of Pakistan intelligence agency,
Jilani
ʿAbdul Qādir Gīlānī, ( ar, عبدالقادر الجيلاني, ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī; fa, ) known by admirers as Muḥyī l-Dīn Abū Muḥammad b. Abū Sāliḥ ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī al-Baḡdādī al-Ḥasanī al-Ḥusayn ...
was informing a US diplomat that Afghanistan was no longer creating troubles for Pakistan.
By August 1976 relations with Pakistan had improved to a high degree.
Later on, while promoting his new foreign policy doctrine, Daoud Khan came to a tentative agreement on a solution to the Pashtunistan problem with Ali Bhutto.
Diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union
Khan met
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Gener ...
on a state visit to Moscow from 12 to 15 April 1977. He had asked for a private meeting with the Soviet leader to discuss with him the increased pattern of Soviet actions in Afghanistan. In particular, he discussed the intensified Soviet attempt to unite the two factions of the Afghan communist parties,
Parcham
Parcham (Pashto and prs, پرچم, ) was the name of one of the factions of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, formed in 1967 following its split and led for most of its history by Babrak Karmal and Mohammed Najibullah. The basic id ...
and
Khalq
Khalq ( ps, خلق, ) was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Its historical ''de facto'' leaders were Nur Muhammad Taraki (1967–1979), Hafizullah Amin (1979) and Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy (1979–1990). It was also ...
. Brezhnev described Afghanistan's non-alignment as important to the USSR and essential to the promotion of peace in Asia, and warned him about the presence of experts from NATO countries stationed in the northern parts of Afghanistan. Daoud bluntly replied that Afghanistan would remain free, and that the Soviet Union would never be allowed to dictate how the country should be governed.
After returning to Afghanistan, he made plans that his government would downscale its relationship with the Soviet Union, and instead forge closer contacts with the West as well as the oil-rich
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. Afghanistan signed a co-operative military treaty with
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and by 1977 the Afghan military and police force were being trained by Egyptian Armed forces. This angered the Soviet Union because Egypt took the same route in 1974 in distancing itself from the Soviet Union.
Communist coup and assassination
![Day after Saur revolution in Kabul (773)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Day_after_Saur_revolution_in_Kabul_%28773%29.jpg)
After the murder of
Mir Akbar Khyber
Mir Akbar Khyber (January 11, 1925 – April 17, 1978) was an Afghan left-wing intellectual and a leader of the Parcham faction of People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). His assassination by an unidentified person or people led to the ...
, the prominent
Parcham
Parcham (Pashto and prs, پرچم, ) was the name of one of the factions of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, formed in 1967 following its split and led for most of its history by Babrak Karmal and Mohammed Najibullah. The basic id ...
i ideologue, his funeral on 19 April 1978 served as a rallying point for the Afghan communists. An estimated 1,000 to 3,000 people gathered to hear speeches by PDPA leaders such as
Nur Muhammad Taraki
Nur Muhammad Taraki (; 14 July 1917 – 9 October 1979) was an Afghan revolutionary communist politician, journalist and writer. He was a founding member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) who served as its General Secret ...
,
Hafizullah Amin
Hafizullah Amin (Pashto/ prs, حفيظ الله امين; 1 August 192927 December 1979) was an Afghan communist revolutionary, politician and teacher. He organized the Saur Revolution of 1978 and co-founded the Democratic Republic of Afghanist ...
and
Babrak Karmal
Babrak Karmal (Farsi/Pashto: , born Sultan Hussein; 6 January 1929 – 1 or 3 December 1996) was an Afghan revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Afghanistan, serving in the post of General Secretary of the People's Democratic Part ...
.
Shocked by this demonstration of communist unity, Khan ordered the arrest of the PDPA leaders, but he acted too slowly. It took him a week to arrest Taraki, Karmal managed to escape to the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, and Amin was merely placed under house arrest. Khan had misjudged the situation and believed that Karmal's Parcham faction was the main communist threat. In fact, according to PDPA documents, Amin's Khalq faction had extensively infiltrated the military and they outnumbered Parcham cells by a factor of 2 to 3. Amin sent complete orders for the coup from his home while it was under armed guard, using his family as messengers.
The army had been put on alert on 26 April because of a presumed coup. On 27 April 1978, a
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
, beginning with troop movements at the military base at
Kabul International Airport
, nativename-r =
, image = Flightline at Kabul International Airport.jpeg
, caption = The flightline at Kabul International Airport in January 2012
, IATA = KBL
, ICAO = OAKB
, ...
, gained ground slowly over the next twenty-four hours as rebels battled units loyal to Daoud Khan in and around the capital.
Khan and most of his family were
assassinated
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
during the coup by members of the
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), ''Hezb-e dimūkrātĩk-e khalq-e Afghānistān'' was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 Afgha ...
(PDPA). The coup climaxed in
the Arg, the former chief Royal palace, on 28 April 1978, involving heavy fighting and many deaths. Shortly afterwards, the new military leaders announced that Khan was killed for refusing to pledge allegiance to the new regime.
Body and state funeral
On 28 June 2008, his body and those of his family were found in two separate mass graves outside the walls of
Pul-e-Charkhi prison
Pul-e-Charkhi Prison (Pashto/Dari: زندان پل چرخی), also known as the Afghan National Detention Facility, is the largest prison in Afghanistan, located in the outskirts east of Kabul. As of 2018, it holds up to 5,000 inmates. The prison ...
,
District 12 District 12 may refer to:
* District 12 (Ho Chi Minh city), Vietnam
*Schwamendingen, Zürich, Switzerland, also known as District 12
* District 12, an electoral district of Malta
* District 12 (Hunger Games), fictional district in the Hunger Games ...
of Kabul city. Initial reports indicate that sixteen corpses were in one grave and twelve others were in the second.
[ On 4 December 2008, the Afghan Health Ministry announced that the body had been identified on the basis of teeth molds and a small golden Quran, a present he had received from the ]King of Saudi Arabia
The king of Saudi Arabia is the monarchial head of state and ruler of Saudi Arabia who holds absolute power. He is the head of the Saudi Arabian royal family, the House of Saud. The king is called the "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" (), a ...
, found near the body.
On 17 March 2009, General Daoud was given a state funeral. His only surviving child, Dorkhanai, attended the funeral.
Public image
News sources in the 1970s claimed that General Daoud Khan said he was happiest when he could "light his American cigarettes with Soviet matches."
Mohammad Daoud Khan was retrospectively described as an "old-fashioned statesman, compassionate yet reserved and authoritarian" by ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
s Nushin Arbabzadeh. Then-President Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
hailed Khan's courage and patriotism in comments after his 2009 state funeral, saying he was "always thinking of the advancement and prosperity of the country." Some Afghans fondly consider him to be the best leader their country has had in modern times.
During his time as prime minister and president, Khan was highly unpopular among the non-Pashtun minorities in Afghanistan because of his alleged Pashtun favouritism. During his regime, all significant positions in the government, army and educational institutions were held by Pashtuns
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
. His attempt at the Pashtunisation of Afghanistan reached such an extent that the word 'Afghan' started being used to refer only to Pashtuns and not to the other minority groups who collectively formed a majority in Afghanistan.
Afghan armed forces were allied with Daoud Khan and supported his goal of promoting Pashtuns to higher posts in the Afghan armed forces
("The land belongs to Allah, the rule belongs to Allah")
, founded = 1997
, current_form =
, branches =
* Afghan Army
* Afghan Air Force
, headquarters = Kabul
, website =
, commander-in-chi ...
. In 1963, Afghan Uzbeks
The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...
were barred from becoming high-ranking officers in the Afghan armed forces. Similarly only a few Tajiks
Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Tajik ...
were allowed to hold the position of officer in the Afghan army, while other ethnicities were excluded from those positions.
Daoud Khan viewed the Afghan armed forces as a crucial vector in the Pashtunisation of Afghan state. The Panjshir uprising in 1975 is also believed to be result of anti-Pashtun frustration which had been building up in Panjshir valley as result of Daoud Khan's policies.
Personal life
In September 1934, Daoud Khan married his cousin, the Princess
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
Zamina Begum (11 January 1917 – 28 April 1978), sister of King Zahir (15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007). The couple had four sons and four daughters:
*1. Zarlasht Daoud Khan
*2. Khalid Daoud Khan (1947–1978). Had a son:
**Tariq Daoud Khan
*3. Wais Daoud Khan (1947–1978). Had four children:
** Turan Daoud Khan (1972–)
** Ares Daoud Khan (1973 – k. 1978)
** Waygal Daoud Khan (1975 – k. 1978)
** Zahra Khanum (1970–)
*4. Muhammad Umar Daoud Khan (k. 1978). Had two daughters:
** Hila Khanum (1961 – k. 1978)
** Ghazala Khanum (1964 – k. 1978)
*5. Dorkhanai Begum
*6. Zarlasht Khanum (k. 1978)
*7. Shinkay Begum (k. 1978). Had two daughters:
** Ariane Heila Khanum Ghazi (1961–)
** Hawa Khanum Ghazi (1963–)
*8. Torpekay Begum. Had three children:
** Shah Mahmud Khan Ghazi
** Daud Khan Ghazi
** Zahra Khanum Ghazi
Ancestry
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Mohammed Daoud
1909 births
1978 deaths
Assassinated heads of state
1978 murders in Asia
20th-century heads of state of Afghanistan
Presidents of Afghanistan
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
Leaders who took power by coup
Assassinated Afghan politicians
Deaths by firearm in Afghanistan
Defence ministers of Afghanistan
Foreign ministers of Afghanistan
Prime Ministers of Afghanistan
People murdered in Afghanistan
People from Kabul
1970s in Afghanistan
Pashtun nationalists
Barakzai dynasty
Burials in Afghanistan