People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan

The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (in Farsi: ??? ????????? ??? ?????????, PDPA) was a Marxist-Leninist party founded in January 1, 1965. At the time of its foundation, the Central Committee consisted of:

Related Topics:
Farsi - Marxist-Leninist - January 1 - 1965

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• Permanent members
• Nur Mohammed Taraki
• Babrak Karmal
• Sultan Ali Keshtmand
• Saleh Mohamed Zéri
• Gholam Destaguir Panjsheri
• Mohamed Taher Badakhshi
• Charoullah Chapour
• Non-permanent members
• Nur Mohamed Nur
• Dr. Akbar Chah-Wali
• Abdoul Karil Missaq
• Suleiman Laeq
• Mohamed Hassan Bareq Chafeï
• Hafizullah Amin
• Ismaïl Danesh
• Abdul Hakim Charayi Jowzjani
• Abdul Majid
• Zaher Ofoq Qandahari
• Dr. Zaher

In 1978, the PDPA, supported by the Soviet Union, overthrew the unstable regime of Mohammad Daoud in a bloody coup and renamed the country the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

Related Topics:
1978 - Soviet Union - Mohammad Daoud - Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

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The PDPA began to initiate secular reforms that were not well-received by large sectors of the Afghan populace, especially Islamic conservatives and fundamentalists in rural areas. The regime became widely unstable, with several opposed to the secular reforms taking up arms against the government. Tensions peaked with a power struggle between President Mohammed Taraki and Defense Minister Hafizullah Amin. Taraki was killed and Amin assumed the presidency.

Related Topics:
Islam - Fundamentalists - Mohammed Taraki - Hafizullah Amin

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The Soviet Union, convinced that the government was in great danger of being toppled, began to move troops into Afghanistan on December 19, 1979, in order to prop up the regime and defeat the mujahideen guerrillas. The Soviets justified this action based on the Brezhnev Doctrine; however, the move produced a rapid cooling of relations with the United States, who began to arm the mujahideen to drive the Soviets out.

Related Topics:
December 19 - 1979 - Mujahideen - Brezhnev Doctrine - United States

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Despite the massive Soviet presence, the PDPA found itself increasingly unpopular, wrought with intraparty factional struggles and bogged down in continual guerrilla war. Soviets troops withdrew in 1989.

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President and PDPA leader Mohammad Najibullah agreed to step down in favor of a transitional government in 1992, three years after the Soviet troop withdrawal. The mujahideen established a new government in Kabul led by Ahmad Shah Massoud. But the mujahideen were soon torn by factional struggles, particularly between Massoud's coalition government and the Taliban. Taliban forces took Kabul in 1996, and Najibullah, who had been residing in a UN compound, was hanged from a traffic light post.

Related Topics:
Mohammad Najibullah - Kabul - Ahmad Shah Massoud - Taliban

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See also: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

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