By: Katie Flynn The Shah Conflict

Zahir Shah For 200 years, Afghanistan had been ruled by 2 Pashtun lineages. Zahir Shah was born into one of them. When he was 19, he witnessed his father’s assassination. The throne was left to him, but for many years, his uncles made most of the political decisions (Bearak).

Afghanistan under Zahir Shah In the 1960’s, Zahir made Afghanistan a Constitutional Monarchy He gave women many rights such as the right to vote, the right to an education, and the right to work. Many people disapproved of his changes because Afghanistan is a “deeply traditional Islamic society.” While he was in power, it was for the most part a time of peace but there wasn’t much economic development (Bearak).

Mohammad Daoud Khan Mohammad Daoud Khan was the cousin of Zedir Shah (Bearak). He was the prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 until he was forced to resign in March of 1963 (History in an Hour). He regained control on July 17, 1973 in a coup d’état (The Origins).

Daoud’s Connections with the United States When Daoud was Prime Minister, he wanted to expand the Afghan military. The US refused to loan military equipment to him (The Origins). Prime Minister Daoud with President Richard Nixon

Zehir Shah with his Cousin Daoud Khan Zehir Shah (left) with his cousin, Prime Minister Daoud Khan (right).

Daoud’s Connections with the USSR When the US refused to lend money or equipment to the Afghans, Daoud was forced to turn to the Soviet Union in order to expand his military. After the Soviets lent money to the Afghans, they sent some people to investigate the country.

Daoud’s connections with the USSR Some Afghans were sent to the USSR to complete their education and get military training. The Russians had a long term plan to take over Afghanistan and make it a communist country. When Daoud broke relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Afghan people were almost entirely dependent on the Soviets (Sayed).

Daoud’s resignation Some Afghans were suspicious of the Soviets and convinced Zehir that Daoud was too involved with the USSR (Sayed). He also had “overly ambitious plans, controversial social policies, and increased tension with Pakistan” (The Origins). Zehir forced Daoud to resign in March1963

Daoud’s Coup d’état In 1973, Prince Daoud’s cousin, Zahir Shah, the Afghan king, was in Italy getting treatment for his eye problems. While he was gone, Daoud took the throne. Zahir resigned from his position as king to prevent any bloodshed (Bearak). A secret political party called The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, or PDPA, helped him rise to power (Ritscher).

Daoud and the PDPA The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan was a communist party that supported Afghan relations with the Soviet Union. The party agreed to help him overthrow the government if, in return, they were given government positions (Ritscher).

Daoud and the PDPA As soon as Daoud felt that he didn’t need their help, he severed relations with the PDPA (Ritscher). Later, Daoud tried to get rid of the PDPA and arrested its leaders. That led to yet another coup d’état that left Daoud dead (The Origins).

Afghanistan under Mohammad Daoud Khan Daoud established a Republic in Afghanistan (The Origins). Some of his reforms as leader include the freedom of women, as well as the suppression of many Islamic fundamentals. Many Afghani Muslims didn’t like this and went to Pakistan (History).

Daoud’s Impact on the Afghanis Daoud’s policies had an impact on the Afghanis. For example, he thought it was okay for Muslim women to not wear their veils. Ahmad Shah Massoud, one of the Islamists that left Afghanistan for Pakistan because of this, returned to Afghanistan in attempt to take over. He failed and as a result, Islamic fundamentals were repressed even more (History).

Daoud’s Connections Daoud had connections with both the Soviet Union and the PDPA and both were interested in taking over Afghanistan and making it a communist country. The Soviet Union brought the ideas of communism into Afghanistan, giving the PDPA the idea to make Afghanistan communist. The PDPA helped Daoud take over in an attempt to bring communism into the country (Ritscher).

Daoud’s Connections When Daoud broke relations with the PDPA, they were mad and took over the country (The Origins). The Russians helped the PDPA plan this coup d’état because they were mad that the country was a republic with no members of the communist party in office and little relations with the Soviets (Sayed). The PDPA was backed strongly by the Soviets, and eventually the Soviet Union took over Afghanistan (Ritscher).

Afghani opinion of Daoud Many Afghan people were upset that Daoud Khan suppressed many of the fundamentals of Islam (History). The communists of Afghanistan were mad that Daoud didn’t have any members of their party in office (Sayed). A lot of the Muslims in the Middle East were upset that Daoud was allowing foreigners to come into their countries and question their beliefs and religious customs. They had a problem especially with women’s rights (Bashiri).

Works Cited Works Cited Bashiri, Iraj. "Afghanistan: An Overview." N.p., 2002. Web. 2 Mar. 2013. Bearak, Barry. "Mohammad Zahir Shah, Last Afghan King, Dies at 92." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 July 2007. Web. 02 Mar. 2013. "History in an Hour." History in an Hour. N.p., 18 July 2012. Web. 02 Mar. 2013. "The Origins of the Soviet-Afghan War." The Origins of the Soviet-Afghan War. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2013. Ritscher, Adam. "Afghanistan History." Afghanistan History. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. Sayed, Reshtya Q. "Contemporary Afghanistan - The Last Sixty Years (1919-1979)." Afghanistan Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2013.

Links to Sources http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/24/world/asia/24shah.html?_r=0 http://www.alternativeinsight.com/Afghan_War.html http://www.afghan-web.com/history/articles/reshtya.html http://www.historyinanhour.com/2012/07/18/mohammed-daoud-khan-summary/ http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Afghanistan/AfghanOverview.html http://www.afghangovernment.com/briefhistory.htm