Stable Communist Government in Afghanistan

Most Afghanistan threads I've seen seem to focus on increasing Soviet conventional military strength, but I'm wondering what sort of policy compromises that the Soviets could have made so that the majority of Afghans would have accepted the rule of the government.

Why exactly did the communist government fail to gain popular support? Could these problems have been solved with changes in the way the government ruled, and would Soviet/Afghan elites have accepted these kinds of changes? Could the Soviets "win" in Afghanistan without any major increase in their deployed forces?
 
A strong, authoritarian and organized government is essential for communism to establish itself. Historically, Afghanistan has been the least likely country to develop any sort of government strong, authoritarian or organized.
 
The multiple internal Communist coups didn't help either, as well as the fratricidal infighting between the Khalq and Parcham factions which divided and weakened the Afghan Communist Party (PDPA).

Somehow getting a unified PDPA that didn't execute several of its own leaders and launch waves and counter-waves of internal purges (all before the Soviet invasion) should go a long way to stabilising the Afghan communist regime.

Also, the Khalq faction's radical reforms were what first provoked the mujaheddin uprising. A more measured, gradual approach would have lessened opposition from traditionalist elements.
 
Cut back on the secularism. IOTL, the attempted removal of religion from the public sphere was a number one cause of opposition to the Communist regime.
 
Is there anyway Najibullah can come into power much earlier? He seems like the most successful PDPA leader due to his combination of pragmatism and brutality.
 
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