In July 1973, when Z.A. Bhutto was on his way to the United States on an official visit, he was informed about the illness of president Nixon (who was actually in the throes of the Watergate scandal). At this Bhutto decided to take a longer stopover in Europe, where he was informed about a very serious development in Afghanistan — Pakistan’s volatile neighbour. On July 17, he learnt that Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan, had staged a palace coup, removed King Zahir Shah and declared Afghanistan a republic with himself as president.

Daud Khan was the first cousin of the king, Zahir Shah, and had been in politics since a young age. He was the son of Mohammad Aziz Khan (d 1933) an elder half-brother of the king, Mohammad Nadir Shah, (Zahir Khan’s father). Educated in Paris (France), Daud Khan was a liberal man who believed in high human values. He was the governor of Kandahar from 1935 to 1939; he was then elevated to the position of lieutenant-general and commander of the Kabul Corps, a post that he retained till 1946; he served as minister of defence from 1946-48 and interior minister from 1949 till 1951. In September 1953, Daud Khan was appointed prime minister. Owing to his liberal thinking he drifted towards the then Soviet Union and accomplished many projects aimed at the people’s welfare.

Daud wanted unification of the Pakhtun population on both sides of the Durand Line. His coming to power was a source of unrest for the Afghan minorities such as Tajiks, Uzbeks and other non-Pakhtun communities. During his tenure the Pakhtuns were encouraged and almost all higher government positions were occupied by them. When the Pakhtuns along the border resorted to armed rebellion and violence, Daud Khan moved closer to Soviet Union and India which extended him full economic assistance. They armed Afghanistan with modern armaments including jet fighters and heavy artillery. Daud Khan’s extended ties with India made a difficult situation for Pakistan. The Pakhtun issue meant relieving Pakistan of a large area of territory. In the early 1960s Afghan army units crossed the international border and entered Pakistan from Bajaur Agency in a bid to highlight the Pakhtun issue and muster support for Pakhtunistan. The Afghan troops were, however, pushed back into Afghanistan by Pakistan.

Bhutto was a keen observer of the developments across the border and had to be watchful. Finally, on July 17, 1973, when Bhutto was in Europe vacationing after a message from the US, Daud Khan in an intra-palatial coup seized power from his cousin Zahir Shah, proclaiming himself the president of the Afghanistan republic. Zahir Shah was allowed to fly, along with his family, to his Rome resort. Daud replaced Zahir Shah’s constitution with the loya jirga, or greater assembly, which had members nominated by the ruling clique. He reorganised his party, People’s Democratic Party and worked with more enthusiasm for Pakhtunistan. Through some hardline Pakhtun elements he started a proxy war in Pakistan, resulting in the rise of Islamic fundamentalists who rushed to Pakistan for refuge.

While Bhutto could not react till he reached Pakistan, he knew that Daud’s party had such hardliners and diehard communists as Noor Mohammad Taraki and Babrak Karmal; however, he managed to seek a dialogue.

It was an appropriate time to speak to Moscow before making a firm commitment to Daud on Pakistan’s western borders. On Oct 22, 1973, Bhutto arrived on a three-day state visit to the Soviet Union. During this he met president Leonid Brezhnev, Nikolai Podgorny and Alexei Kosygin. This was Bhutto’s second visit to the Soviet Union. In his previous visit he had sought cooperation for oil exploration and economic cooperation in other fields. This time in a changed situation with a new friend, Daud Khan, in Soviet bloc, Bhutto found a more reaffirming response from the Soviet leadership.

After the New Year, president Daud tried to lessen dependence on the Soviet Union and instead began developing ties with the western world and developing Muslim countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia. In June 1974, Bhutto visited Kabul and discussed mutual ties with Sardar Daud. This was a development welcomed by all peace-loving elements in the subcontinent.

With the developments in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, Sardar Daud began losing his grip on Afghanistan. In April 1978, a communist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan leader, Mir Akbar Khyber, was killed in mysterious circumstances. Sardar Daud wanted to get hold of the culprits, but his opponents acted swiftly and on April 27, 1978, army units surrounded Sardar Daud’s palace. He and his family members were killed on April 28. No formal announcement of his killing was made and only the takeover by Noor Mohammad Taraki, who was a diehard communist, was announced. It brought an end to the bid of making people’s participation in Afghan politics possible and shattered the greater Pakhtunistan dream.

shaikhaziz38@gmail.com