Whereas nobody denies the fundamental role played by Daoud in Afghanistan’s contemporary history, there has not been any book entirely dedicated to the study of this important and controversial Afghan political figure published to date. This work is a contribution towards partially filling the gap.

In his study, Dr. Assem Akram, carefully reviews and analyses facts and elements, relying on a variety of sources. These include the invaluable testimonies of people who worked with Daoud, those who knew him personally and others who were closely related to him. Though Daoud is the focus of this study, one can nevertheless see at the same time forty years of contemporary Afghan history reviewed and laid out. The book contains pictures, a very helpful chronology and many appendices.

Daoud became Prime Minister in 1953. At the height of the Cold War, deeply disturbed by the underdeveloped state of his country, he strove and succeeded in having both blocks, East and West, cooperate in Afghanistan’s economical development.

Ambitious and nationalistic, his firm stand on the Pashtunistan issue and his somewhat authoritarian methods of government created rifts within the ruling strata as well as within the royal family itself. Daoud left power in 1963. Thereafter, under King Zaher Shah’s stewardship, the country adopted a new constitution, which prevented members of the Royal family from taking over high offices such as Prime-Minister, Minister, member of the parliament, etc. Daoud, a first cousin and brother-in-law of the King, resented the law and viewed it as being directed against him personally. He remained outside the official arena for a decade, frustrated and angry, waiting for his hour to come.

On July 17th 1973, with the help of a group of young army officers -some of them leftists and others nationalists- Daoud perpetrated a bloodless coup d’Etat, abolishing the Monarchy and installing a Republican regime. His Republic, which brought in many changes in a short span of time, was a short-lived one. In April 1978, self-proclaimed ‘progressive’ and communist elements, with the consent of Moscow, joined hands and overthrew Daoud in a bloody coup, killing most of his family members during the final assault. The communist take-over and subsequent Soviet invasion threw Afghanistan into the international spotlight and transformed the country into a regional center of competition between arch-rival blocks that led eventually to the defeat and the dismemberment of the Soviet Empire. To fully comprehend the chain of events in which Afghanistan still struggles in a seemingly endless war, it appears essential to learn more about the critical period preceding the ongoing tragedy.

Whether people judge his bilance to be positive or negative, he was a man of tremendous determination and also of fascinating paradoxes. He flirted with the Soviets but was not a Communist. He gave women the right to abandon the tchadari and promoted their rights, but never appointed any at a highly visible position. He was a true faithful practicing Muslim, but opposed religious groups’ influence on society. He fought for the Pashtun revival and nationalism, but would not segregate on ethnicity for key appointments. Last but not least, he was a King’s first cousin and could have proclaimed himself Shah when he took over, but instead he abolished monarchy, putting an end to almost 250 years of Afghanistan being ruled by members of a same clan, a clan to which he belonged…

Indeed, one cannot fully comprehend recent Afghan history without knowing Daoud, whose character and ideas contributed to shape Afghanistan’s domestic and foreign policies for almost half a century.

First Published: August 2001.
Original Print Version ISBN: 0971078106