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145-734: An ethnic Pashtun , Aslam Watanjar was born in 1946, in Zurmula , in Afghanistan's Paktia Province . He trained as a tank commander in the Soviet Union following his graduation from the Military Academy in Kabul in 1967, being part of the Afghan Army ’s 4th Tank Brigade. Watanjar's role in the communist coup of 1978 was important. Instructed by Hafizullah Amin , he initiated the march of tank forces from

290-545: A dacha . In his position as Revolutionary Council chairman Karmal was succeeded by Haji Mohammad Chamkani , who was not a member of the PDPA. In 1986, there were more than 100,000 political prisoners and there had been more than 16,500 extrajudicial executions. Its main objectives were the opponents of communism and the most educated classes in society. In September 1986, the National Compromise Commission (NCC)

435-735: A Pashtun Nationalist, had strong ties to the Pashtun Nationalist community in the Pashtun majority North West Frontier province . Najibullah was present during the funeral for Pashtun Nationalist leader Abdul Ghaffar who was granted military honors. Najibullah also attempted to hand over the control of non Pashtun ethnic militias to Pashtun leaders as he had grown to distrust many northern militias such as Abdul Rashid Dostum's Uzbek militia which had committed atrocities and started to open channels with Ahmad Shah Massoud . A Soviet GRU dossier on Najibullah described him as "A Pushtun nationalist , he

580-652: A Pashtun population of over 1 million, whilst Jaipur and Bangalore have an estimate of around 100,000. The Pashtuns in Bangalore include the khan siblings Feroz , Sanjay and Akbar Khan , whose father settled in Bangalore from Ghazni . During the 19th century, when the British were recruiting peasants from British India as indentured servants to work in the Caribbean , South Africa and other places, Rohillas were sent to Trinidad , Surinam , Guyana , and Fiji , to work in

725-724: A Politburo meeting Eduard Shevardnadze said "We will leave the country in a deplorable situation", and further talked about the economic collapse, and the need to keep at least 10 to 15,000 troops in Afghanistan. In this Vladimir Kryuchkov , the KGB Chairman , supported him. This stance, if implemented, would be a betrayal of the Geneva Accords just signed. During the second phase of the Soviet withdrawal, in 1989, Najibullah told Valentin Varennikov openly that he would do everything to slow down

870-923: A continuation of Najibullah's party. Najibullah was born on 6 August 1947 in the city of Gardez , Paktia Province , in the Kingdom of Afghanistan . His ancestral village of Najibqilla is located between the towns of Gardez and Said Karam in an area known as Mehlan. He belonged to the Ahmadzai Ghilji tribe of Pashtuns . Najibullah was educated at Habibia High School in Kabul, at St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School in Baramulla , Jammu and Kashmir , India , and at Kabul University where he began studying in 1964 and completed his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( MBBS ) in 1975; however, he never practiced medicine. In 1965, during his study in Kabul, Najibullah joined

1015-673: A former senator in Pakistan, Afrasiab Khattak have claimed that Najibullah was assassinated by the ISI (alongside members of the Taliban working for them) allegedly over his Pashtun nationalist stance Durand Line as well as revenge for the botched Battle of Jalalabad in 1989. In his book The Wars of Afghanistan , Tomsen wrote, “Najib's entrapment and execution carried the hallmarks of a classic intelligence operation. The Taliban, on their own, would not have taken such elaborate precautions to avoid violating

1160-568: A government organ to a ministry in January 1986. With the situation in Afghanistan deteriorating, and the Soviet leadership looking for ways to withdraw, Mikhail Gorbachev wanted Karmal to resign as PDPA General Secretary. The question of who was to succeed Karmal was hotly debated, but Gorbachev supported Najibullah. Yuri Andropov, Boris Ponomarev and Dmitriy Ustinov all thought highly of Najibullah, and negotiations of who would succeed Karmal might have begun as early as 1983. Despite this, Najibullah

1305-613: A group of opposing Afghans, as also corroborated by Abulfazl Beyhaqi . It is recorded that Afghans were also enrolled in the Ghurid Kingdom (1148–1215). By the beginning of the Khilji dynasty in 1290, Afghans have been well known in northern India. Ibn Battuta , when visiting Afghanistan following the era of the Khilji dynasty, also wrote about the Afghans. "We travelled on to Kabul, formerly

1450-473: A journalist specialized in Afghan affairs. Although this figure is disputed due to the lack of an official census in Afghanistan since 1979 . They are the second-largest ethnic group in Pakistan and one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan , constituting around 18.24% of the total Pakistani population and around 47% of the total Afghan population. In India , significant and historical communities of

1595-509: A member of the ruling Revolutionary Council; however, the Khalq (People's) faction of the PDPA gained supremacy over his own Parcham (Banner) faction, and after a brief stint as Ambassador to Iran, he was dismissed from government and went into exile in Europe, until the Soviet Union intervened in 1979 and supported a Parcham-dominated government. In 1980, Najibullah was appointed the head of KHAD ,

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1740-810: A move would be a breach of the Geneva Accords; to hunt for Ahmad Shah Massoud so early on would disrupt the withdrawal, and would mean that the Soviet Union would fail to meet its deadline for withdrawal. During his January 1989 visit to Shevardnadze, Najibullah wanted to retain a small presence of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, and called for moving Soviet bombers to military bases close to the Afghan–Soviet border and place them on permanent alert. Najibullah also repeated his claims that his government could not survive if Ahmad Shah Massoud remained alive. Shevardnadze again repeated that troops could not stay, since it would lead to international outcry, but said he would look into

1885-399: A new constitution providing for a new bicameral National Assembly (Meli Shura), consisting of a Senate (Sena) and a House of Representatives ( Wolesi Jirga ), and a president to be indirectly elected to a 7-year term. The new political parties had to oppose colonialism , imperialism , neo-colonialism , Zionism , racial discrimination, apartheid and fascism . Najibullah stated that only

2030-545: A number of months, Najibullah was locked in a power struggle against Karmal, who still retained his post of Chairman of the Revolutionary Council . Najibullah accused Karmal of trying to wreck his policy of National Reconciliation , a series of efforts by Najibullah to end the conflict. During his tenure as leader of Afghanistan, the Soviets began their withdrawal, and from 1989 until 1992 , his government tried to solve

2175-558: A participant in the Saur Revolution. Najibullah succeeded Karmal as PDPA General Secretary on 4 May 1986 at the 18th PDPA meeting, but Karmal still retained his post as Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council . On 15 May, Najibullah announced that a collective leadership had been established, which was led by himself consisted of himself as head of party, Karmal as head of state and Sultan Ali Keshtmand as Chairman of

2320-505: A plot against Amin. The Herat uprising also set off a new round in the Afghan regime's internal power struggle. To assuage charges of weak performance in the military leadership, Taraki finally granted Watanjar the position of Minister of Defense . Watanjar's move to take over the Defense Ministry was a demonstrable exploitation of Amin's vulnerability in the aftermath of the failings of the army. However, by July 1979, Amin took over

2465-576: A scale not seen previously. As would later be proven by the power struggle he had with Karmal after becoming PDPA General Secretary, despite Najibullah heading the KHAD for five years, Karmal still had sizeable support in the parcham faction leading to Najibullah relying more on Khalqists . He was appointed to the PDPA Secretariat in November 1985. Najibullah's ascent to power was proven by turning KHAD from

2610-456: A tank battalion of Shahnawaz Tanai during Tanai's coup attempt , which eventually failed. Watanjar was awarded a four-star rank by President Najibullah and also made Secretary of Defense. After the fall of Kabul and the collapse of President Najibullah's government, he left the country. On 24 November 2000, Watanjar died of cancer while in exile , in the Ukrainian city of Odesa . He

2755-582: A total of 24 seats. Although the election was boycotted by the Mujahideen, the government left 50 of the 234 seats in the House of Representatives, as well as a small number of seats in the Senate, vacant in the hope that the guerrillas would end their armed struggle and participate in the government. The only armed opposition party to make peace with the government was Hizbollah , a small Shi'a party not to be confused with

2900-618: A traffic light pole outside the Arg presidential palace the next day in order to show the public that a new era had begun. The Taliban prevented Islamic funeral prayers for Najibullah and Shahpur in Kabul, but the bodies were later handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross who in turn sent their bodies to Gardez in Paktia Province , where both of them were buried after

3045-553: A tribe mentioned by Herodotus ( Pactyans ) in 430 BCE in the Histories : Other Indians dwell near the town of Caspatyrus[Κασπατύρῳ] and the Pactyic [Πακτυϊκῇ] country, north of the rest of India; these live like the Bactrians; they are of all Indians the most warlike, and it is they who are sent for the gold; for in these parts all is desolate because of the sand. These Pactyans lived on

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3190-440: A vast town, the site of which is now occupied by Afghans. They hold mountains and defiles and possess considerable strength, and are mostly highwaymen. Their principal mountain is called Kuh Sulayman . It is told that the prophet Sulayman [Solomon] ascended this mountain and having looked out over India, which was then covered with darkness, returned without entering it." Ferishta , a 16th-century Muslim historian writing about

3335-547: Is one of the motivating spirits of the policy of “ Pushtunization ” of Afghan society. Within his closest circle he speaks only in Pashto. He is inclined to select colleagues not for their professional qualities but for their personal devotion to him, predominantly relatives and fellow-villagers". Under Najibullah over 50% of Afghan media was in the Pashto language . Najibullah was married on 1 September 1974 to Fatana Najib , principal of

3480-559: The Assakenoi of Arrian , which was the name used for ancient inhabitants of the Hindu Kush . Aśvakan literally means "horsemen", "horse breeders", or " cavalrymen " (from aśva or aspa , the Sanskrit and Avestan words for " horse "). This view was propounded by scholars like Christian Lassen , J. W. McCrindle , M. V. de Saint Martin, and É. Reclus , The earliest mention of

3625-651: The August Coup in Moscow and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Najibullah was left without foreign aid. This, coupled with the internal collapse of his government (following the defection of general Abdul Rashid Dostum ), led to his resignation in April 1992. In 1996, he was tortured and killed by the Taliban . In 2017, the pro-Najibullah Watan Party was created as

3770-470: The Battle of Jalalabad broke out between Afghan government forces and the mujahideen, in cooperation with Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI). The offensive against the city began when the mujahideen bribed several government military officers, from there, they tried to take the airport, but were repulsed with heavy casualties. The willingness of the common Afghan government soldier to fight increased when

3915-566: The British Raj in colonial India . These include Bombay (now called Mumbai ), Farrukhabad , Delhi , Calcutta , Saharanpur , Rohilkhand , Jaipur , and Bangalore . The settlers are descended from both Pashtuns of present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan ( British India before 1947). In some regions in India , they are sometimes referred to as Kabuliwala . In India significant Pashtun diaspora communities exist. While speakers of Pashto in

4060-548: The Council of Ministers . When Najibullah took the office of PDPA General Secretary, Karmal still had enough support in the party to disgrace Najibullah. Karmal went as far as to spread rumours that Najibullah's rule was little more than an interregnum, and that he would soon be reappointed to the general secretaryship. As it turned out, Karmal's power base during this period was KHAD. The Soviet leadership wanted to ease Karmal out of politics, but when Najibullah began to complain that he

4205-471: The Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union continued, and so did bilateral trade. He encouraged the development of the private sector in industry. The Five-Year Economic and Social Development Plan which was introduced in January 1986 continued until March 1992, one month before the government's fall. According to the plan, the economy, which had grown less than 2 percent annually until 1985, would grow 25 percent in

4350-523: The Geneva Accords , and the Soviet Union and the United States signed as guarantors; the treaty specifically stated that the Soviet military had to withdraw from Afghanistan by 15 February 1989. Gorbachev later confided to Anatoly Chernyaev , a personal advisor to Gorbachev, that the Soviet withdrawal would be criticised for creating a bloodbath which could have been averted if the Soviets stayed. During

4495-670: The Ghilji Pashtuns to the Mazandaran Province in northern Iran. The remnants of this once sizable exiled community, although assimilated, continue to claim Pashtun descent. During the early 18th century, in the course of a very few years, the number of Durrani Pashtuns in Iranian Khorasan, greatly increased. Later the region became part of the Durrani Empire itself. The second Durrani king of Afghanistan, Timur Shah Durrani

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4640-461: The Islamisation of the party and those who wanted to defend the gains of the Saur Revolution. Opposition to his policy of National Reconciliation was met party-wide, but especially from Karmalists. Many people did not support the handing out of the already small state resources the Afghan state had at its disposal. On the other side, several members were proclaiming anti-Soviet slogans as they accused

4785-687: The Oxus at that time. Others however have suggested a much older Iranic ancestor given the affinity to Old Avestan . According to one school of thought, Pashtun are descended from a variety of ethnicities, including Persians , Greeks , Turks , Arabs , Bactrians , Dards , Scythians , Tartars , Huns ( Hephthalites ), Mongols , Moghals (Mughals), and anyone else who has crossed the region where these Pashtun live. Further they are also, and probably most surprisingly, of Israelite descent. Some Pashtun tribes claim descent from Arabs , including some claiming to be Sayyids . One historical account connects

4930-582: The Parcham (Banner) faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan ( PDPA ) and was twice imprisoned for political activities. He served as Babrak Karmal 's close associate and bodyguard during the latter's tenure in the lower house of parliament (1965–1973). In 1977, Najibullah was elected to the Central Committee. On 27 April 1978, the PDPA took power in Afghanistan ( Saur Revolution ), with Najibullah

5075-867: The Pashtun diaspora exist in the northern region of Rohilkhand as well as in major Indian cities such as Delhi and Mumbai . Pashtuns are spread over a wide geographic area, south of the Amu river and west of the Indus River . They can be found all over Pakistan and Afghanistan. Big cities with a Pashtun majority include Jalalabad , Kandahar , Bannu , Dera Ismail Khan , Khost , Kohat , Lashkar Gah , Mardan , Ghazni , Mingora , Peshawar , Quetta , among others. Pashtuns also live in Abbottabad , Farah , Herat , Islamabad , Kabul , Karachi , Kunduz , Lahore , Mazar-i-Sharif , Mianwali , and Attock . The city of Karachi ,

5220-717: The Red Sea , many of the Copts became converts to the Jewish faith ; but others, stubborn and self-willed, refusing to embrace the true faith, leaving their country, came to India, and eventually settled in the Sulimany mountains, where they bore the name of Afghans. The ethnogenesis of the Pashtun ethnic group is unclear. There are many conflicting theories amongst historians and the Pashtuns themselves. Modern scholars believe that Pashtuns do not all share

5365-535: The Republic of Afghanistan before the PDPA took power in 1978. Najibullah's government also featured many former ministers of the Daoud Khan government. Najibullah was in support of restoration of the monarchy to some capacity, he restored Zahir Shah's citizenship and actively encouraged Zahir Shah to take part in negotiations, Najibullah's wife Fatana Najib is also related to former Afghan King Amanaullah . Najibullah

5510-538: The Sogdian language , as well as Khwarezmian , Shughni , Sanglechi , and Khotanese Saka . It is suggested by some that Pashto may have originated in the Badakhshan region and is connected to a Saka language akin to Khotanese. In fact major linguist Georg Morgenstierne has described Pashto as a Saka dialect and many others have observed the similarities between Pashto and other Saka languages as well, suggesting that

5655-569: The Soviet intervention which toppled Amin's rule and placed Babrak Karmal as head of the state, the party and the government. During Karmal's rule, Najibullah became head of the KHAD , the Afghan equivalent of the Soviet KGB . He was a member of the Parcham faction led by Karmal. During Najibullah's tenure as KHAD head, it became one of the most brutally efficient governmental organs. Because of this, he gained

5800-674: The United Nations headquarters until his assassination during the Taliban's capture of Kabul . A graduate of Kabul University , Najibullah held different careers under the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Following the Saur Revolution and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan , Najibullah was a low profile bureaucrat. He was sent into exile as Ambassador to Iran during Hafizullah Amin 's rise to power. He returned to Afghanistan following

5945-490: The one-party state and letting non-communists join the government. He remained open to dialogue with the mujahideen and other groups, made Islam an official religion, and invited exiled businessmen back to re-take their properties. In the 1990 constitution, all references to communism were removed and Islam became the state religion . For various reasons, such changes did not win Najibullah any significant support. Following

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6090-510: The 1987 constitution, for instance, Article 2 of the constitution stated that Islam was the state religion, and Article 73 stated that the head of state had to be born into a Muslim Afghan family. The 1990 constitution stated that Afghanistan was an Islamic state , and the last references to communism were removed. Article 1 of the 1990 Constitution said that Afghanistan was an "independent, unitary and Islamic state." Najibullah continued Karmal's economic policies. The augmenting of links with

6235-627: The 4th and 15th Tank Brigades near Pul-e-Charkhi against the Republican government of Daoud Khan . 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. Watanjar

6380-451: The 982 Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam , where a reference is made to a village, Saul, which was probably located near Gardez , Afghanistan. "Saul, a pleasant village on a mountain. In it live Afghans ". The same book also speaks of a king in Ninhar ( Nangarhar ), who had Muslim, Afghan and Hindu wives. In the 11th century, Afghans are mentioned in Al-Biruni 's Tarikh-ul Hind ("History of the Indus"), which describes groups of rebellious Afghans in

6525-506: The Afghan equivalent to the Soviet KGB , and was promoted to the rank of Major General . He was appointed following lobbying from the Soviets, including Yuri Andropov , then KGB Chairman . During his six years as head of KHAD he had two to four deputies under his command, who in turn were responsible for an estimated 12 departments. According to evidence, Najibullah was dependent on his family and his professional network, and more often than not appointed people he knew to top positions within

6670-408: The Afghan government's economic monopoly was also broken, this had more to do with the tight situation than any ideological conviction. Abdul Hakim Misaq , the Mayor of Kabul , even stated that traffickers of stolen goods would not be prosecuted by law as long as their goods were given to the market. Yuli Vorontsov , on Gorbachev's orders, was able to get an agreement with the PDPA leadership to offer

6815-421: The Afghan mujahideen even if it was in contravention of the Geneva Accords. At the beginning, most observers expected the Najibullah government to collapse immediately, and to be replaced with an Islamic fundamentalist government. The Central Intelligence Agency stated in a report that the new government would be ambivalent, or even hostile towards the United States. Almost immediately after the Soviet withdrawal,

6960-553: The Afghan people dramatically improved, and Najibullah came to be seen as a strong and patriotic leader. Since the 2010s, posters and pictures of him have become a common sight in many Afghan cities. Najibullah is a very popular figure amongst Pashtun Nationalists many of whom view his fall as the biggest blow to the Pashtun Nationalist Movement. Ever since the creation of Pakistan the various governments of Afghanistan whatever Monarchy, Republican or Communist had all backed Pashtun Nationalist parties such as ANP . The fall of Najibullah

7105-422: The Afghans, so [you should] impose a penalty on Nat Kharagan ... ...lord of Warnu with ... ... ...the Afghan... ... " The name Afghan is later recorded in the 6th century CE in the form of "Avagāṇa" [अवगाण] by the Indian astronomer Varāha Mihira in his Brihat-samhita . "It would be unfavourable to the people of Chola, the Afghans (Avagāṇa), the white Huns and the Chinese." The word Afghan also appeared in

7250-534: The British/ Commonwealth links of their respective countries, and modern communities have been established starting around the 1960s mainly in the United Kingdom , Canada , Australia but also in other commonwealth countries (and the United States ). Some Pashtuns have also settled in the Middle East, such as in the Arabian Peninsula . For example, about 300,000 Pashtuns migrated to the Persian Gulf countries between 1976 and 1981, representing 35% of Pakistani immigrants. The Pakistani and Afghan diaspora around

7395-403: The Islamic funeral prayers for them by their fellow Ahmadzai tribesmen. The perpetrators of the murder have been debated, some including Soviet journalists Plastun and Andrianov who knew Najibullah personally, US Special Envoy to Afghanistan Peter Tomsen , the former National Directorate of Security , Afghanistan's Strategic and Scientific Research Center, and many Pashtun Nationalist including

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7540-430: The KHAD. In June 1981, Najibullah, along with Mohammad Aslam Watanjar , a former tank commander and the then Minister of Communications and Major General Mohammad Rafi , the Minister of Defence were appointed to the PDPA Politburo . Under Najibullah, KHAD's personnel increased from 120 to 25,000 to 30,000. KHAD employees were amongst the best-paid government bureaucrats in communist Afghanistan, and because of it,

7685-404: The Najibullah government was partially successful in building up the Afghan defence forces. The Ministry of State Security had established a local militia force which stood at an estimated 100,000 men. The 17th Division in Herat, which had begun the 1979 Herat uprising against PDPA-rule, stood at 3,400 regular troops and 14,000 tribal men. In 1988, the total number of security forces available to

7830-399: The Najibullah government, but Kryuchkov had been arrested following the failed 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt and Shevardnadze had resigned from his posts in the Soviet government in December 1990 – there were no longer any pro-Najibullah people in the Soviet leadership and the Soviet Union was in the middle of an economic and political crisis, which would lead directly to the dissolution of

7975-484: The National Reconciliation programme to be supported and developed by the Soviet Union. Najibullah reassured the inter-party opposition that he would not give up the gains of the Saur Revolution, but to the contrary, preserve them, not give up the PDPA's monopoly on power, or to collaborate with reactionary Mullahs . During Babrak Karmal 's later years, and during Najibullah's tenure, the PDPA tried to improve their standing with Muslims by moving, or appearing to move, to

8120-422: The Pashtuns nowadays constitute a clear ethnic group with their own language and culture, there is no evidence whatsoever that all modern Pashtuns share the same ethnic origin. In fact it is highly unlikely." Pashto is generally classified as an Eastern Iranian language. It shares features with the Munji language , which is the closest existing language to the extinct Bactrian , but also shares features with

8265-478: The Pashtuns to a possible Ancient Egyptian past but this lacks supporting evidence. Henry Walter Bellew , who wrote extensively on Afghan culture, noted that some people claim that the Bangash Pashtuns are connected to Ismail Samani . Mohammad Najibullah Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai ( Pashto / Dari : محمد نجیب‌الله احمدزی , Pashto: [mʊˈhamad nad͡ʒibʊˈlɑ ahmadˈzai] ; 6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996), commonly known as Dr. Najib ,

8410-496: The Soviet Union on 26 December 1991. At the same time, Boris Yeltsin became Russia's new leader, and he had no wish to continue to aid Najibullah's government, which he considered a relic of the past. In the autumn of 1991, Najibullah wrote to Shevardnadze "I didn't want to be president, you talked me into it, insisted on it, and promised support. Now you are throwing me and the Republic of Afghanistan to its fate." By January 1992, Najibullah had become internationally isolated, with

8555-415: The Soviet departure. Varennikov in turn replied that such a move would not help, and would only lead to an international outcry against the war. Najibullah would repeat his position later that year, to a group of senior Soviet representatives in Kabul. This time Najibullah stated that Ahmad Shah Massoud was the main problem, and that he needed to be killed. In this, the Soviets agreed, but repeated that such

8700-479: The Soviet withdrawal; for instance, parachutists who protected the Soviet embassy staff, military advisors and special forces and reconnaissance troops still operated in the "outlying provinces", especially along the Afghan–Soviet border. Soviet military aid continued after their withdrawal, and massive quantities of food, fuel, ammunition and military equipment was given to the government. Varennikov visited Afghanistan in May 1989 to discuss ways and means to deliver

8845-456: The Soviets. Because of this, KHAD became known for its ruthlessness. During his ascension to power, several Afghan politicians did not want Najibullah to succeed Babrak Karmal because Najibullah was known for exploiting his powers for his own benefit. Additionally, during his period as KHAD chief, the Pul-i Charki had become the home of several Khalqist politicians. Another problem was that Najibullah allowed graft, theft, bribery and corruption on

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8990-571: The UN compound and had effectively barred Najibullah from leaving Kabul. "If they wanted Najibullah to flee Kabul in safety," Tokhi said, "they could have provided him the opportunity as they did with other high-ranking officials from the communist party from 1992 to 1996." Dr Najibullah was the only member of the old regime (besides Assadullah Sawari ) to not be granted amnesty by the Islamic State of Afghanistan . Whatever his true motivations were, when Massoud's militia went to both Najibullah and General Tokhi and asked them to flee Kabul, they rejected

9135-430: The UN's diplomatic premises (where Dr Najibullah had taken sanctuary since stepping down in 1992).” In 1996, Mullah Borjan , who was the commander-in-chief of the Taliban siege force on the southeast side of Kabul , made it clear that he would never allow Taliban forces to kill former President Najibullah. On 20 September, Mullah Borjan was shot and killed by his bodyguards for unknown reasons. A week later, Najibullah

9280-442: The ability to speak Pashto and instead speak Hindi and other regional languages. There are an estimated 350–400 Pashtun tribes and clans with a variety of origin theories . In 2021, Shahid Javed Burki estimated the total Pashtun population to be situated between 60 to 70 million, with 15 million in Afghanistan. Others who accepted the 15 million figure include British academic Tim Willasey-Wilsey as well Abubakar Siddique,

9425-457: The administration of Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto for the defeat. Bhutto eventually sacked Gul. Hardline Khalqist Shahnawaz Tanai attempted to overthrow Najibullah in a failed coup attempt in March 1990, the coup was stopped however by the Khalqist General Aslam Watanjar . Although Tanai and his forces failed and fled to Pakistan, the coup attempt still managed to show weaknesses in Najibullah's government. From 1989 to 1990,

9570-514: The aid to the government. In 1990, Soviet aid amounted to an estimated 3 billion United States dollars . As it turned out, the Afghan military was entirely dependent on Soviet aid to function. When the Soviet Union was dissolved on 26 December 1991, Najibullah turned to former Soviet Central Asia for aid. These newly independent states had no wish to see Afghanistan being taken over by religious fundamentalists, and supplied Afghanistan with 6 million barrels of oil and 500,000 tons of wheat to survive

9715-517: The airport. At the UN compound in Kabul, while waiting for the UN to negotiate his safe passage to India , he occupied himself by translating Peter Hopkirk 's book The Great Game into his mother tongue Pashto . India was placed in a difficult position by deciding to allow Najibullah political asylum and safely escorting him out of the country. Supporters claimed he had always been close to India and should not be denied asylum, but others said doing so would risk antagonizing India's relationship with

9860-502: The attention of several leading Soviet officials, such as Yuri Andropov , Dmitriy Ustinov and Boris Ponomarev . In 1981, Najibullah was appointed to the PDPA Politburo . In 1985, Najibullah stepped down as the state security minister to focus on PDPA politics; he had been appointed to the PDPA Secretariat. Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev , also the last Soviet leader , was able to get Karmal to step down as PDPA General Secretary in 1986, and replace him with Najibullah. For

10005-417: The bigger party in Iran or the Lebanese organization . Several figures of the intelligentsia took Najibullah's offer seriously, even if they sympathised or were against the regime. Their hopes were dampened when the Najibullah government introduced the state of emergency on 18 February 1989, four days after the Soviet withdrawal. 1,700 intellectuals were arrested in February alone, and until November 1991

10150-406: The capital. Najibullah refused. The reasons for his refusal might have been that unlike other members of the former regime, Najibullah had not been granted amnesty by the Islamic State of Afghanistan . The UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali had pleaded with the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani to allow Najibullah to leave the country as he felt that Najibullah was not safe as his presence

10295-504: The capture of Mazar-i-Sharif including General Mohammad Nabi Azimi with the Pashtun Khalqist and Pro-Najibullah army and paramilitaries defending the city. On March 18, 1992 Najibullah offered to resign, leading to many Pashtun Khalqist and Najibullah loyalists to ally with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin in order to prevent non Pashtuns from seizing Kabul . The Peshawar Accord would be signed on 26 April 1992 between various Mujahadeen factions, leading to

10440-420: The chief of the Afghans, ' the judge of Tukharistan and Gharchistan . Moreover, ' a letter [ has come hither ] from you, so I have heard how [ you have ] written ' ' to me concerning ] my health . I arrived in good health, ( and ) ( afterwards ( ? ) ' ' I heard that a message ] was sent thither to you ( saying ) thus : ... look after the farming but the order was given to you thus. You should hand over

10585-540: The city failed, and by April the government forces were on the offensive. During the battle over four hundred Scud missiles were shot, which were fired by a Soviet crew which had stayed behind. When the battle ended in July, the mujahideen had lost an estimated 3,000 troops. One mujahideen commander lamented "the battle of Jalalabad lost us credit won in ten years of fighting." After the mujahideen's defeat in Jalalabad, Gul blamed

10730-675: The connection of the Pashtuns with names such as the Parsiētai (Παρσιῆται), Parsioi (Πάρσιοι) that were cited by Ptolemy 150 CE: "The northern regions of the country are inhabited by the Bolitai, the western regions by the Aristophyloi below whom live the Parsioi (Πάρσιοι). The southern regions are inhabited by the Parsiētai (Παρσιῆται), the eastern regions by the Ambautai. The towns and villages lying in

10875-773: The country of the Paropanisadai are these: Parsiana Zarzaua/Barzaura Artoarta Baborana Kapisa niphanda" Strabo , the Greek geographer, in the Geographica (written between 43 BC to 23 AD) makes mention of the Scythian tribe Pasiani (Πασιανοί), which has also been identified with Pashtuns given that Pashto is an Eastern-Iranian language, much like the Scythian languages : "Most of the Scythians...each separate tribe has its peculiar name. All, or

11020-581: The country only number 21,677 as of 2011, estimates of the ethnic or ancestral Pashtun population in India range from 3,200,000 to 11,482,000 to as high as double their population in Afghanistan (approximately 30 million). The Rohilkhand region of Uttar Pradesh is named after the Rohilla community of Pashtun ancestry; the area came to be governed by the Royal House of Rampur , a Pashtun dynasty. They also live in

11165-542: The creation of the new Islamic State of Afghanistan . However, Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin and the Khalq would continue to fight this new government in the Third Afghan Civil War . During the tumultuous period leading to the fall of Dr. Najibullah's government in Afghanistan, the Ismaili community, under the leadership of Sayed Mansur Naderi and his son Sayed Jafar Naderi , played a significant role in orchestrating

11310-473: The critical influence of the Ismaili community in shaping the nation's political landscape during a period of profound change and instability. Not long before Kabul's fall, Najibullah appealed to the UN for protection after his guards fled, which was rejected. His attempt to flee to the airport was thwarted by troops of Abdul Rashid Dostum – once loyal to him, but now allied with Ahmad Shah Massoud – who controlled

11455-651: The defection of most Uzbek , Tajiks , Turkmen , Hazara and Ismaili Shias militias including ethnic Uzbek , General Abdul Rashid Dostum and his 40,000 Uzbek soldiers. The defectors would form an anti-Pashtun coalition known as the Movement of the North (Harakat-e Shamal) and ally with the Tajik Jamiat-e Islami and Hazara Hezbe Wahdat in taking on the mostly Pashtun , Afghan Military . Many Tajik Parchamites loyal to Babrak Karmal would defect en masse during

11600-435: The defence minister, to consolidate relations with the Afghan authorities, reopen the embassy, and allow Najibullah to fly to India, but Massoud refused. Bhadrakumar wrote in 2016 that he believed Massoud did not want Najibullah to leave as Massoud could strategically make use of him, and that Massoud "probably harboured hopes of a co-habitation with Najib somewhere in the womb of time because that extraordinary Afghan politician

11745-453: The defense portfolio, replacing him on the grounds that he was a Taraki-sympathizer. Aslam Watanjar joined forces with Sarwari, Gulabzoy and others Khalqis in a plot against then Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin . Except for Sarwari, who was from the province of Ghazni , the others were from Paktia . They had influence with the army, which was officered by a considerable number of persons from Paktia. Until their break with Amin, Sarwari

11890-531: The eastern frontier of the Achaemenid Arachosia Satrapy as early as the 1st millennium BCE, present-day Afghanistan. Herodotus also mentions a tribe of known as Aparytai (Ἀπαρύται). Thomas Holdich has linked them with the Afridi tribe: The Sattagydae, Gandarii, Dadicae, and Aparytae (Ἀπαρύται) paid together a hundred and seventy talents; this was the seventh province Joseph Marquart made

12035-659: The entertainment industry and sports. Pashtuns are also found in smaller numbers in the eastern and northern parts of Iran . Records as early as the mid-1600s report Durrani Pashtuns living in the Khorasan Province of Safavid Iran . After the short reign of the Ghilji Pashtuns in Iran , Nader Shah defeated the last independent Ghilji ruler of Kandahar , Hussain Hotak . In order to secure Durrani control in southern Afghanistan, Nader Shah deported Hussain Hotak and large numbers of

12180-479: The establishment of a coalition government and be the end of the PDPA's monopoly of power. The programme failed, but the government was able to recruit disillusioned mujahideen fighters as government militias. In many ways, the National Reconciliation led to an increasing number of urban dwellers to support his rule, and the stabilisation of the Afghan defence forces. In September 1986, a new constitution

12325-529: The extremist part of the opposition could not join the planned coalition government. No parties had to share the PDPA's policy or ideology, but they could not oppose the bond between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. A parliamentary election was held in 1988 . The PDPA won 46 seats in the House of Representatives and controlled the government with support from the National Front , which won 45 seats, and from various newly recognized left-wing parties, which had won

12470-515: The financial capital of Pakistan, is home to the world's largest urban community of Pashtuns, larger than Kabul and Peshawar . Likewise, Islamabad , the country's political capital also serves as the major urban center of Pashtuns with more than 20% of the city's population belonging to the Pashto speaking community. Pashtuns in India are often referred to as Pathans (the Hindustani word for Pashtun) both by themselves and other ethnic groups of

12615-460: The government should first investigate his assassination. In 2021, during an interview with a Taliban commander on Afghan television, he denied that the Taliban were involved and blamed Najibullah’s assassination on the ISI . After Najibullah's death, the brutal civil war between mujahideen factions, the Taliban regime, continued fighting, and enduring problems with corruption and poverty, his image among

12760-498: The government still supervised and restricted freedom of speech . Another problem was that party members took his policy seriously too, Najibullah recanted that most party members felt "panic and pessimism." At the Second Conference of the party, the majority of members, maybe up to 60 percent, were radical socialists. According to Soviet advisors (in 1987), a bitter debate within the party had broken out between those who advocated

12905-440: The government stood at 300,000. This trend did not continue, and by the summer of 1990, the Afghan government forces were on the defensive again. By the beginning of 1991, the government controlled only 10 percent of Afghanistan, the eleven-year Siege of Khost had ended in a mujahideen victory and the morale of the Afghan military finally collapsed. In the Soviet Union, Kryuchkov and Shevardnadze had both supported continuing aid to

13050-487: The grain and then request it from the citizens store: I will not order, so.....I Myself order And I in Respect of winter sends men thither to you then look after the farming, To Ormuzd Bunukan, Greetings" "because [you] (pl.), the clan of the Afghans, said thus to me:...And you should not have denied? the men of Rob [that] the Afghans took (away) the horses" "[To ...]-bid the Afghan... Moreover, they are in [War]nu(?) because of

13195-618: The greatest part of them, are nomades. The best known tribes are those who deprived the Greeks of Bactriana, the Asii, Pasiani, Tochari, and Sacarauli, who came from the country on the other side of the Iaxartes (Syr Darya)" This is considered a different rendering of Ptolemy's Parsioi (Πάρσιοι). Johnny Cheung, reflecting on Ptolemy's Parsioi (Πάρσιοι) and Strabo's Pasiani (Πασιανοί) states: "Both forms show slight phonetic substitutions, viz. of υ for ι, and

13340-441: The head of KHAD, Najibullah was also involved in the planning of the hijacking of Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326 with Murtaza Bhutto . As time would show, Najibullah was very efficient, and during his tenure as leader of KHAD, thousands were arrested, tortured, and executed. KHAD targeted anti-communist citizens, political opponents, and educated members of society. It was this efficiency which made him interesting to

13485-648: The history of Muslim rule in the subcontinent , stated: He [Khalid bin Abdullah son of Khalid bin Walid ] retired, therefore, with his family, and a number of Arab retainers, into the Sulaiman Mountains, situated between Multan and Peshawar, where he took up his residence, and gave his daughter in marriage to one of the Afghan chiefs, who had become a proselyte to Mahomedism. From this marriage many children were born, among whom were two sons famous in history. The one Lodhi ,

13630-452: The length and breadth of India, with the largest populations principally settled in the plains of northern and central India . Following the partition of India in 1947, many of them migrated to Pakistan . The majority of Indian Pashtuns are Urdu-speaking communities , who have assimilated into the local society over the course of generations. Pashtuns have influenced and contributed to various fields in India, particularly politics,

13775-471: The loss of his biggest supporter he decided to consolidate his power over the non Pashtuns who were considered less loyal to the regime . This came after complaints from his fellow Pashtun Kochis of harassment from an ethnic Tajik general, Abdul Momin. Momin had developed secret ties with the Tajik warlord Ahmad Shah Massoud and was passing on secret information to Massoud which led to Najibullah ordering

13920-558: The loss of r in Pasianoi is due to perseveration from the preceding Asianoi. They are therefore the most likely candidates as the (linguistic) ancestors of modern day Pashtuns." In the Middle Ages until the advent of modern Afghanistan in the 18th century, the Pashtuns were often referred to as "Afghans" . The etymological view supported by numerous noted scholars is that the name Afghan evidently derives from Sanskrit Aśvakan , or

14065-414: The matter. Shevardnadze demanded that the Soviet embassy created a plan in which at least 12,000 Soviet troops would remain in Afghanistan either under direct control of the United Nations or remain as "volunteers". The Soviet military leadership, when hearing of Shevardnadze's plan, became furious. But they followed orders, and named the operation Typhoon , maybe ironic considering that Operation Typhoon

14210-458: The mujahideen began to execute people during the battle. Hamid Gul , leader of the ISI, hoped that the battle would topple Najibullah's government and create a mujahideen government seated in Jalalabad. During the battle, Najibullah called for Soviet assistance. Gorbachev called an emergency session of the Politburo to discuss his proposal, but Najibullah's request was rejected. Other attacks against

14355-598: The name Afghan ( Abgân ) is by Shapur I of the Sassanid Empire during the 3rd century CE, In the 4th century the word "Afghans/Afghana" (αβγανανο) as a reference to a particular people is mentioned in the Bactrian documents found in Northern Afghanistan. "To Ormuzd Bunukan, from Bredag Watanan ... greetings and homage from ... ), the ( sotang ( ? ) of Parpaz ( under ) [ the glorious ) yabghu of Hephthal ,

14500-675: The new mujahideen government formed under the Peshawar Accord . India also refused to let him take refuge at the Indian embassy in Afghanistan as it risked creating "subcontinental rivalries" and reprisals against Kabul's Indian community, arguing that Najibullah would be far safer at the UN compound. All attempts failed and he eventually sought refuge in the local UN headquarters, where he would stay until 1996. In 1994, India sent senior diplomat M. K. Bhadrakumar to Kabul to hold talks with Ahmad Shah Massoud,

14645-426: The offer. Najibullah was at the UN compound when unknown soldiers came for him on the evening of 26 September 1996. He was abducted from UN custody, and shot in the head. It is alleged that members of the Taliban after finding his corpse dragged his corpse behind a truck through the streets of Kabul. His brother, General Shahpur Ahmadzai, was given the same treatment. Najibullah and Shahpur's bodies were hanged from

14790-675: The officers not to respond to the invasion. Along with them, he served as a guide for the Soviets. After the invasion he was promoted to membership in the central committee and the Revolutionary Council and was appointed Minister of Communications. In June 1981 he was added to the Politburo . Later he served successively as Minister of Defense and again of the Interior. He also headed the official Afghan delegation to Baikonur , in his position of communications minister and member of its ruling Politburo . On March 6, 1990, General Watanjar intercepted

14935-468: The oldest and most clever of the tribe, can give satisfactory information on this point." Others have suggested that a single origin of the Pashtuns is unlikely but rather they are a tribal confederation. "Looking for the origin of Pashtuns and the Afghans is something like exploring the source of the Amazon . Is there one specific beginning? And are the Pashtuns originally identical with the Afghans? Although

15080-461: The ongoing civil war without Soviet troops on the ground. While direct Soviet assistance ended with the withdrawal, the Soviet Union still supported Najibullah with economic and military aid, while Pakistan and the United States continued their support for the mujahideen. Throughout his tenure, he tried to build support for his government via the National Reconciliation reforms by distancing from socialism in favor of Afghan nationalism , abolishing

15225-476: The opposite of the Soviet Union's; Najibullah was opposed to a Soviet withdrawal, the Soviet Union wanted a Soviet withdrawal. This was logical, considering the fact that the Afghan military was on the brink of dissolution. The only means of survival seemed to Najibullah was to retain the Soviet presence. In July 1986 six regiments, which consisted up to 15,000 troops, were withdrawn from Afghanistan. The aim of this early withdrawal was, according to Gorbachev, to show

15370-407: The original Pashto speakers might have been a Saka group. Furthermore, Pashto and Ossetian , another Scythian-descending language, share cognates in their vocabulary which other Eastern Iranian languages lack Cheung suggests a common isogloss between Pashto and Ossetian which he explains by an undocumented Saka dialect being spoken close to reconstructed Old Pashto which was likely spoken north of

15515-553: The other Sur ; who each, subsequently, became head of the tribes which to this day bear their name. I have read in the Mutla-ul-Anwar , a work written by a respectable author, and which I procured at Burhanpur , a town of Khandesh in the Deccan , that the Afghans are Copts of the race of the Pharaohs ; and that when the prophet Moses got the better of that infidel who was overwhelmed in

15660-481: The party leadership, was replaced by a National Assembly, an organ in which members were to be elected by the people. The PDPA's socialist stance was denied even more than previously, in 1989 the Minister of Higher Education began to work on the "de-Sovietisation" of universities, and in 1990 it was even announced by a party member that all PDPA members were Muslims and that the party had abandoned Marxism . Many parts of

15805-451: The plan. Industry would grow 28 percent, agriculture 14–16 percent, domestic trade by 150 percent and foreign trade with 15 percent. As expected, none of these targets were met, and 2 percent growth annually which had been the norm before the plan continued under Najibullah. The 1990 constitution gave due attention to the private sector . Article 20 was about the establishment of private firms, and Article 25 encouraged foreign investments in

15950-412: The political and military maneuvers that culminated in Najibullah's ousting. The strategic mutiny led by these Ismaili leaders, in collaboration with other non-Pashtun factions, effectively disrupted Najibullah's main supply route from the former Soviet Union, directly contributing to the collapse of his regime. This pivotal action not only marked a turning point in Afghanistan's history but also highlighted

16095-445: The political centre. They wanted to create a new image for the party and state. Communist symbols were either replaced or removed. These measures did not contribute to any notable increase in support for the government, because the mujahideen had a stronger legitimacy to protect Islam than the government; they had rebelled against what they saw as an anti-Islamic government, that government was the PDPA. Islamic principles were embedded in

16240-464: The political indoctrination of KHAD officials was a top priority. During a PDPA conference, Najibullah, talking about the indoctrination programme of KHAD officials, said "a weapon in one hand, a book in the other." Counter-insurgency activities launched by KHAD reached its peak under Najibullah. He reported directly to the Soviet KGB, and a big part of KHAD's budget came from the Soviet Union itself. As

16385-463: The posts of Gossoviet chairman (the state planning organ), the Council of Ministers chairmanship (head of government), ministries of defence, state security, communications, finance , presidencies of banks and the Supreme Court . The PDPA still demanded it held on to all deputy ministers, retained its majority in the state bureaucracy and that it retained all its provincial governors. The government

16530-432: The private sector. While he may have been the de jure leader of Afghanistan, Soviet advisers still did the majority of work when Najibullah took power. As Gorbachev remarked "We're still doing everything ourselves [...]. That's all our people know how to do. They've tied Najibullah hand and foot." Fikryat Tabeev , the Soviet ambassador to Afghanistan , was accused of acting like a governor general by Gorbachev. Tabeev

16675-550: The rise of the Taliban. On the 20th anniversary of his death, in 2016, Afghanistan's Research Center blamed the ISI for his death, claiming that the plan to kill Najibullah was implemented by Pakistan. On 1 June 2020, following a visit to his grave in Gardez by the Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib , Najibullah's widow Fatana Najib said that before constructing a mausoleum for him,

16820-461: The sacking of Momin which was carried out by Juma Achak, an Achakzai Pashtun who served as Commander of the Northern Zone and was known to hold Pashtun chauvinist views. General Momin was replaced with General Rasul, an ethnic Pashtun Khalqist known for his brutal reputation of commander of Pul-e Charkhi Prison . This move offended many of the non Pashtun militias in the North and led to

16965-459: The same origin. The early ancestors of modern-day Pashtuns may have belonged to old Iranian tribes that spread throughout the eastern Iranian plateau . historians have also come across references to various ancient peoples called Pakthas ( Pactyans ) between the 2nd and the 1st millennium BC, Mohan Lal stated in 1846 that "the origin of the Afghans is so obscure, that no one, even among

17110-541: The states of Maharashtra in central India and West Bengal in eastern India that each have a population of over a million with Pashtun ancestry; both Bombay and Calcutta were primary locations of Pashtun migrants from Afghanistan during the colonial era. There are also populations over 100,000 each in the cities of Jaipur in Rajasthan and Bangalore in Karnataka . Bombay (now called Mumbai ) and Calcutta both have

17255-653: The subcontinent. Some Indians claim descent from Pashtun soldiers who settled in India by marrying local women during the Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent . Many Pathans chose to live in the Republic of India after the partition of India and Khan Mohammad Atif, a professor at the University of Lucknow , estimates that "The population of Pathans in India is twice their population in Afghanistan". Historically, Pashtuns have settled in various cities of India before and during

17400-451: The sugarcane fields and perform manual labour. Many stayed and formed communities of their own. Some of them assimilated with the other South Asian Muslim nationalities to form a common Indian Muslim community in tandem with the larger Indian community, losing their distinctive heritage. Some Pashtuns travelled as far as Australia during the same era. Today, the Pashtuns are a collection of diversely scattered communities present across

17545-514: The term's meaning had become a demonym for members of all ethnic groups in Afghanistan . The Pashtuns speak the Pashto language , which belongs to the Eastern Iranian branch of the Iranian language family . Additionally, Dari serves as the second language of Pashtuns in Afghanistan, while those in Pakistan speak Urdu and English. In India, the majority of those of Pashtun descent have lost

17690-425: The things we have done there in the past ten years." At a Politburo meeting on 24 January, Shevardnadze argued that the Soviet leadership could not be indifferent to Najibullah and his government; again, Shevardnadze received support from Kryuchkov. In the end Shevardnadze lost the debate, and the Politburo reaffirmed their commitment to withdraw from Afghanistan. There was still a small presence of Soviet troops after

17835-529: The tribal lands west of the Indus River in what is today Pakistan. Al-Utbi, the Ghaznavid chronicler, in his Tarikh-i Yamini recorded that many Afghans and Khiljis (possibly the modern Ghilji ) enlisted in the army of Sabuktigin after Jayapala was defeated. Al-Utbi further stated that Afghans and Ghiljis made a part of Mahmud Ghaznavi 's army and were sent on his expedition to Tocharistan , while on another occasion Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked and punished

17980-508: The winter. With the Soviets' withdrawal in 1989, the Afghan army was left on its own to battle the insurgents. The most effective, and largest, assaults on the mujahideen were undertaken during the 1985–86 period. These offensives had forced the mujahideen on the defensive near Herat and Kandahar. The Soviets ensued a bomb and negotiate during 1986, and a major offensive that year included 10,000 Soviet troops and 8,000 Afghan troops. The Pakistani people and establishment continued to support

18125-959: The world includes Pashtuns. A tribe called Pakthās , one of the tribes that fought against Sudas in the Dasarajna , or "Battle of the Ten Kings" , are mentioned in the seventh mandala of the Rigveda , a text of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dated between c. 1500 and 1200 BCE: Together came the Pakthas (पक्थास), the Bhalanas, the Alinas, the Sivas, the Visanins. Yet to the Trtsus came the Ārya's Comrade, through love of spoil and heroes' war, to lead them. Heinrich Zimmer connects them with

18270-476: The world that the Soviet leadership was serious about leaving Afghanistan. The Soviets told the United States Government that they were planning to withdraw, but the United States Government did not believe them. When Gorbachev met with Ronald Reagan during his visit the United States, Reagan called for the dissolution of the Afghan army. On 14 April 1988, the Afghan and Pakistani governments signed

18415-474: Was 54. Pashtuns Pashtuns ( / ˈ p ʌ ʃ ˌ t ʊ n / , / ˈ p ɑː ʃ ˌ t ʊ n / , / ˈ p æ ʃ ˌ t uː n / ; Pashto : پښتانه , romanized:  Pəx̌tānə́ ; ), also known as Pakhtuns , or Pathans , are a nomadic , pastoral , eastern Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan . They historically were also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after

18560-460: Was a Pashtun Nationalist being hailed as the first Afghan leader to speak Pashto at the UN General Assembly and having Afghan Cosmonaut Abdul Ahad Momand (also an Ethnic Pashtun) making Pashto the 4th language spoken in space under his leadership. He often questioning the legitimacy of Pakistan's existence claiming it was "born out of British colonialism". Najibullah whose father was also

18705-509: Was a strategic asset to have by his side". At the time, Massoud was commanding the government's forces fighting the militias of Dostum and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar during the Battle of Kabul . A few months before his death, he quoted, "Afghans keep making the same mistake," reflecting upon his translation to a visitor. In September 1996, when the Taliban were about to enter Kabul, Massoud claimed to have offered Najibullah an opportunity to flee

18850-536: Was an Afghan politician who served as the General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan , the leader of the one-party ruling Republic of Afghanistan from 1986 to 1992 and as well as the President of Afghanistan from 1987 until his resignation in April 1992, shortly after which the mujahideen took over Kabul . After a failed attempt to flee to India, Najibullah remained in Kabul. He lived in

18995-574: Was born in Mashhad . Contemporary to Durrani rule in the east, Azad Khan Afghan , an ethnic Ghilji Pashtun, formerly second in charge of Azerbaijan during Afsharid rule , gained power in the western regions of Iran and Azerbaijan for a short period. According to a sample survey in 1988, 75 percent of all Afghan refugees in the southern part of the Iranian Khorasan Province were Durrani Pashtuns. Indian and Pakistani Pashtuns have utilised

19140-533: Was considered by Afghan Mellat Wakman faction leader Anwar ul-Haq Ahady as "the end of Pashtun dominance in Afghan politics". Many Pashtuns remember under Najibullah, Pashto became the 4th language spoken in space when Abdul Ahad Momand called Najibullah in 1988 from space as well as the fact Najibullah chose to speak Pashto at the UN General assembly rather than Dari . In 1997, the Watan Party of Afghanistan

19285-447: Was established on the orders of Najibullah. The NCC's goal was to contact counter-revolutionaries "in order to complete the Saur Revolution in its new phase." Allegedly, an estimated 40,000 rebels were contacted by the government. At the end of 1986, Najibullah called for a six-months ceasefire and talks between the various opposition forces, this was part of his policy of National Reconciliation. The discussions, if fruitful, would lead to

19430-495: Was formed and in 2003, the National United Party of Afghanistan was registered – who seek to unite former PDPA members formerly led by Mohammad Najibullah. Najibullah is often referred to as a communist by some; however, his rule from 1987 to 1992 was marked with a shift away from communism towards Islamic socialism and a mixed economy . In terms of policy, Najibullah can be best compared to Daoud Khan , who ruled

19575-458: Was hampering his plans of National Reconciliation , the Soviet Politburo decided to remove Karmal; this motion was supported by Andrei Gromyko , Yuli Vorontsov , Eduard Shevardnadze , Anatoly Dobrynin and Viktor Chebrikov . A meeting in the PDPA in November relieved Karmal of his Revolutionary Council chairmanship, and he was exiled to Moscow where he was given a state-owned apartment and

19720-534: Was head of the Intelligence Department (AGSA), while the others were cabinet ministers. At first close friends of Amin, they later turned against him, siding with President Nur Mohammad Taraki in opposition to Amin. When Amin overcame them, they took refuge in the Soviet embassy along with Sarwari and Gulabzoy. The presence in Soviet Red Army of Sarwari, Watanjar, and Gulabzoy might have influenced

19865-480: Was in charge of the operation until Amin took over from him in the evening. On April 30 the RC issued the first of a series of fateful decrees. The decree formally abolished the military's revolutionary council. Following the coup, Watanjar was appointed deputy prime minister and minister of communications. Later he served successively as minister of the interior, of defense, and again of the interior until he joined others in

20010-589: Was killed. News of Najibullah's murder was greeted with widespread international condemnation, particularly from the Muslim world . The United Nations issued a statement which condemned the killing of Najibullah, and claimed that it would further destabilise Afghanistan. The Taliban responded by issuing death sentences on Dostum, Massoud and Burhanuddin Rabbani . India, which had been supporting Najibullah, strongly condemned his killing and began to support Massoud's United Front/Northern Alliance in an attempt to contain

20155-402: Was not the only choice the Soviets had. A GRU report argued that he was a Pashtun nationalist, a stance which could decrease the regime's popularity even more. The GRU preferred Assadullah Sarwari , earlier head of ASGA , the pre-KHAD secret police, who they believed would be better able to balance between the Pashtuns, Tajiks and Uzbeks. Another viable candidate was Abdul Qadir , who had been

20300-411: Was not willing to concede all of these positions, and when the offer was broadcast, the ministries of defence and state security. Local elections were held in 1987. It began when the government introduced a law permitting the formation of other political parties, announced that it would be prepared to share power with representatives of opposition groups in the event of a coalition government, and issued

20445-573: Was present when corpses of the president and his family were buried in a pit. Colonel Watanjar was also in charge of the announcement over Radio Kabul , in the Pashtu language, that a Revolutionary Council of the Armed Forces had been established, with Colonel Abdul Qadir at its head. 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. He

20590-411: Was recalled from Afghanistan in July 1986, but while Gorbachev called for the end of Soviet management of Afghanistan, he could not help but to do some managing himself. At a Soviet Politburo meeting, Gorbachev said "It's difficult to build a new building out of old material [...] I hope to God that we haven't made a mistake with Najibullah." As time would prove, the problem was that Najibullah's aims were

20735-518: Was the German military operation against the city of Moscow during World War II . Shevardnadze contacted the Soviet leadership about moving a unit to break the siege of Kandahar , and to protect convoys from and to the city. The Soviet leadership were against Shevardnadze's plan, and Chernyaev even believed it was part of Najibullah's plan to keep Soviet troops in the country. To which Shevardnadze replied angrily "You've not been there, [...] You've no idea all

20880-501: Was well known, Rabbani however refused to grant Najibullah amnesty. Massoud (a member of Rabbani's Jamiat-e Islami Party ) himself claimed that Najibullah feared that "if he fled with the Tajiks, he would be for ever damned in the eyes of his fellow Pashtuns." Others, like General Tokhi, who was with Najibullah until the day before his torture and murder, stated that Najibullah mistrusted Massoud after his militia had repeatedly fired rockets at

21025-612: Was written, which was adopted on 29 November 1987. The constitution weakened the powers of the head of state by cancelling his absolute veto. The reason for this move, according to Najibullah, was the need for real-power sharing. On 13 July 1987, the official name of Afghanistan was changed from the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan to Republic of Afghanistan, and in June 1988 the Revolutionary Council, whose members were elected by

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