Muhammad Daud

1909 - 1978

President of Afghanistan, 1973 - 1978.

Muhammad Daud, who earned the nickname of Sardar-i Diwana (the crazy prince) because of his hot temper and ruthlessness, was born in Kabul. His father, Sardar (Prince) Mohammad Aziz Khan, was a half brother of King Mohammad Nadir Barakzai (1929 - 1933), the founder of the Musahiban ruling dynasty of the Mohammadzai clan, of the Barakzai family of the Pashtuns (or Pakhtun) who dominated national politics in Afghanistan since the early 1800s. Daud attended Habibia and Amania schools in Kabul before continuing his education in France from 1921 to 1930. He returned to Kabul and after a one-year course at the Infantry Officers School, was appointed a major general and commanding officer of the armed forces in Mashriqi province, eastern Afghanistan (1932 - 1935). In 1933, Daud's uncle, King Nadir Shah, and his father, the Afghan envoy in Berlin, were assassinated separately as a result of political and family feuds. Nadir Shah's son, Mohammad Zahir, assumed the Afghan throne, and in 1934 Daud married the sister of Zahir Shah. Between 1935 and 1953, Daud rose from governor and general commanding officer in the western provinces to minister of defense and interior.

Daud was prime minister from 1953 to 1963. An ardent secular nationalist, Daud made strong military and economic progress his top priority. Initially denied assistance by the United States and the West, he turned to the Soviets. With their help he created a mechanized military force and adopted an etatist (state socialist) economic policy that concentrated on transportation and communication infrastructures and the expansion of education. Exploiting Pushtun nationalism, Daud pursued an aggressive territorial claim (for Pushtunistan) against Pakistan, which resulted in greater trade and with economic and military dependence on the Soviet Union. An alleged rift within the royal household over this issue culminated in Daud's resignation as prime minister in March 1963. He spent the next decade in retirement, unhappy with the constitutional developments in 1964 that curtailed participation of royal family members in government and political processes. Assisted by a group of junior military officers active in the pro-Soviet Parcham (Banner) Communist party, Daud returned to power on 17 July 1973 and proclaimed himself president of the Republic of Afghanistan, thus ending the monarchy.

Shortly thereafter, Daud consolidated power by relying on his old networks and persecuting his perceived enemies, among whom were members of the Islamist political movements. Toward the end of his rule, he appeared to distance himself from his old ally, the Soviet Union, in favor of closer ties with Iran and the Gulf States, while striving to improve relations with Pakistan. In spite of these attempts, his presidency proved to be a period of confusion, contradictions, and indecision. In the end, Daud met his death at the hands of pro-Soviet Afghan communists, whom he had protected and nurtured during the previous decades.

In retrospect, some remember him as a patriot who single-handedly sought, but failed, to bring about progress and economic development in Afghanistan. Although intelligent, he was also a stubborn dictator and was ill informed about Soviet thinking and long-term goals in the region. Thus, he allowed himself to be used as a conduit for communism and Soviet influence, which led to ongoing strife.

Bibliography

Arnold, Anthony. Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion in Perspective, revised edition. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1985.

Dupree, Louis. Afghanistan. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

— M. NAZIF SHAHRANI