This book is downloaded from www.Bawarketabtoon.com Email: [email protected] There comes a time when you have to choose between turning the page and closing the book. –Josh Jameson Modern Afghanistan Modern Afghanistan A History of Struggle and Survival Amin Saikal with assistance from Ravan Farhadi and Kirill Nourzhanov Published in 2004 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 www.ibtauris.com In the United States of America and in Canada distributed by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St Martin’s Press 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © Amin Saikal, 2004 The right of Amin Saikal to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN 1 85043 437 9 EAN 978 1 85043 437 5 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress catalog card: available Typeset in Ehrhardt MT by Steve Tribe, Andover Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin Contents Preface vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 From Tribal Confederacy to National Coalescence 17 Chapter 2 National Awakening and Nationalism 40 Chapter 3 Independence and Radical Modernisation 58 Chapter 4 The Nadiri Dynasty: Politics of National Gradualism and ‘Royal Dualism’ 93 Chapter 5 The Cold War and the Rise of a Rentier State 117 Chapter 6 Experiment with Democracy, 1963–1973 133 Chapter 7 Daoud’s Republicanism 169 Chapter 8 Communist Rule, the Soviet Invasion and Resistance 187 Chapter 9 Mujahideen Islamic Rule, Taliban Extremism and US Intervention 209 Conclusion 231 Notes 241 Bibliography 317 Index 335 Preface THE IDEA FOR THIS book first came to me in the early 1980s – not too long after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in late December 1979. It was a time when the Soviet-backed communist regime was busy rewriting Afghan history to suit its ideological purposes, and Afghanistan had become the subject of more international focus than ever before. Whereas up to this point only a handful of western scholars had concentrated on Afghanistan as the main subject of their intellectual inquiry, suddenly many more established (and instant) scholars and observers of Afghan history, politics and society rushed to analyse the Afghan situation in both historical and contemporary terms. As I had recently completed a doctorate in Australia and was no longer able to return to Afghanistan, my home country, because of my opposition to the Soviet occupation, I was fortunate to have access to most of what was published about Afghanistan’s past and present. While some works struck me as offering objective portrayals based on an in-depth historical understanding of the complexity of Afghan politics and society, as well as its region, in the context of broader world affairs, there were many works which were simply penned as a response to the call of the day for more focus on and publicity about Afghanistan. The concern which gripped me was that virtually all the western scholarly works overlooked some fundamental issues – most importantly the dynamic interactive relationship which had evolved between the factors of royal polygamy, major power rivalry and ideological extremism in heavily influencing the evolution of the modern Afghan state ever since its foundation in 1747. These were the issues which were quite plain to the eyes of many Afghan scholars and political viii Modern Afghanistan practitioners, especially those who had a deep insight into the Afghan history or had been intimately involved in the operation of Afghan politics at some point in their lives, but could not be easily discerned by non-Afghan minds. With this concern in mind, I visited Paris in early 1982 to speak with Dr Ravan Farhadi, who had recently escaped the Soviet occupation after having been jailed by the communist regime of Nur Mohammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin for some 18 months. Dr Farhadi had been a mentor ever since I was a high school student in Kabul in the 1960s. He had impressed me as a powerful intellect and influential policymaker, with such personal integrity and social richness as to become (and to remain to the present day) a role model for me and many other Afghans like me. After having spent hours discussing the project, we agreed that I should proceed with this book. He kindly offered to serve as a source of information and criticism, and his wisdom was to prove indispensable, even as he assumed new responsibilities in the 1990s as Afghanistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the United Nations. It was from that point that I commenced research for this book. However, since this was one of several projects which I had undertaken, it was to be a long-term project, to be completed over several stages as Afghanistan’s turbulent historical journey took a bloody and uncertain direction over the next two decades. As I reached the final stages of the research and writing, I was very fortunate to find another valuable aid and at the same time colleague, Dr Kirill Nourzhanov, who provided much- needed and creative editorial help with the second half of the manuscript and the footnoting of the entire manuscript. His knowledge of Russian sources proved to be vital to the shape of the final product. This book could not have been completed without the valuable assistance of Drs Farhadi and Nourzhanov. I owe both of them a world of gratitude, but dedicate the book to Dr Farhadi for all his selfless services to Afghanistan and world of scholarship, and to the people of Afghanistan for their love of freedom and human dignity. Beyond this, over the long years of research, I conversed with many relevant Afghan and non-Afghan scholars, policymakers and activists, and benefited from support of many institutions. I am extremely thankful to all of them. Obviously, I cannot mention them all individually here, but there are a few I must name. The first and foremost are Professors William Maley and Robert McChesney. William acted not only as a reader and critic of the manuscript, but also as a very dear, loyal friend and source of encouragement throughout my years of research and writing. Robert, whose friendship has been inspirational, has enriched me so much as a source of intellectual influence through his writings and frequent personal interactions that I cannot Preface ix thank him enough. I am also indebted to the former Afghan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the late Sayyed Qassem Rishtya, who in two long conversations provided me with more insight into the working of pre-communist Afghan governments than any source of literature could do. Further, I am very thankful to Carol Laslett for acting (often beyond the call of duty) to lighten my workload in the university so that I could devote a great deal of time to my research. Of the many institutions which supported this project either directly or indirectly, I owe a debt of gratitude to the Rockefeller Foundation, the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, the Center of International Studies, Princeton University and above all the Australian National University, especially its Faculty of Arts, where I have held an academic position since 1983. Of course, this book would have not originated had it not been for the inspiration and support of my extended and immediate families. I was and continue to be influenced by the dedication of my late parents, five brothers and two sisters to both the cause of Afghanistan’s independence and wellbeing, and to what it takes to embrace many worlds as both proud Afghans and global citizens. Each one of them in their separate ways has had an impact on my knowledge about Afghanistan, but perhaps none of them more so than my youngest brother, Mahmoud Saikal, who has devoted most of his adult life to serving in whatever capacity necessary to preserve Afghanistan’s independence and to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people. My family has a story of its own in the struggle for a free, independent and forward- looking Afghanistan, which I hope will be told at another time. As for my immediate family, my wife, Mary-Lou Hickey, has given all the love and support that I have needed to get through this project and several more, though perhaps less daunting than this one. I also cannot thank her enough for reading and formatting the entire manuscript. Although my three daughters, Rahima, Samra and Amina were born at times when I had already become deeply immersed in this project, they had to endure my many moments of aloofness and long absences as I became more and more preoccupied with my research and writing. Yet despite my neglect of their many social and school occasions, they have continued to grow lovingly and delightfully, to manage to keep my feet on the ground, as much as an Australian as an Afghan. They are the pride and joy of my life. Amin Saikal Canberra Introduction RARE IS THE COUNTRY that has sustained as many blows, and such hard blows, as has Afghanistan since its foundation as a distinct political unit in 1747.