Before 1973, Afghanistan was a relatively moderate, modernized peaceful nation. There was poverty and tribal tensions, but compared to today, those problems were significantly downgraded in severity. King Zahir Shah was able to maintain neutrality in the Cold War. Women had full civil rights and they could vote in elections.
However, Zahir Shah's rule was not perfect. There were issues with the Pashtuns and there was a famine from 1971-72, which earned a somewhat poor response from Zahir Shah.
The aforementioned problems with the Pashtuns earned the ire of Daoud Khan, a Pashtun who once tossed around the idea of creating a Pashtun nation out of Afghan and Pakistani territory, a issue which created a diplomatic crisis with Pakistan, resulting in him resigning. Daoud Khan would later be banned from holding any further political positions by the 1964 edition of the Afghan Constitution.
In 1973, Daoud Khan would successfully overthrow his cousin and install a Communist republic. He further pushed the Pashtun agenda by encouraging cross-border raids into Pakistan, improved women's rights and put into motion two five-year-modernization-plans which increased the labour force by 50%
However, despite Khan's attempts to form relations with the West, particularly Saudi Arabia and Iran, the Soviets began to influence Afghanistan's government. As a result, factions began to form within the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. This schism would result in the 1978 coup in which Khan was assassinated.
Unlike Khan, who while a socialist was able to maintain the loyalty of the Afghan people, the new Democratic Republic of Afghanistan effectively presented itself as a purely socialist, irreligious government. They prohibited usury and tried to institute a aggressive land reform program. This latter element would ignite a rebellion by the mujahedeen, which led to the endless destabilization of the country through the following Soviet invasion, the Afghan Civil War after the Soviet withdrawal, the rise of the Taliban and today, the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan.
So, what if King Zahir Shah was never overthrown by his cousin and remained as King of Afghanistan for the foreseeable future?
However, Zahir Shah's rule was not perfect. There were issues with the Pashtuns and there was a famine from 1971-72, which earned a somewhat poor response from Zahir Shah.
The aforementioned problems with the Pashtuns earned the ire of Daoud Khan, a Pashtun who once tossed around the idea of creating a Pashtun nation out of Afghan and Pakistani territory, a issue which created a diplomatic crisis with Pakistan, resulting in him resigning. Daoud Khan would later be banned from holding any further political positions by the 1964 edition of the Afghan Constitution.
In 1973, Daoud Khan would successfully overthrow his cousin and install a Communist republic. He further pushed the Pashtun agenda by encouraging cross-border raids into Pakistan, improved women's rights and put into motion two five-year-modernization-plans which increased the labour force by 50%
However, despite Khan's attempts to form relations with the West, particularly Saudi Arabia and Iran, the Soviets began to influence Afghanistan's government. As a result, factions began to form within the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. This schism would result in the 1978 coup in which Khan was assassinated.
Unlike Khan, who while a socialist was able to maintain the loyalty of the Afghan people, the new Democratic Republic of Afghanistan effectively presented itself as a purely socialist, irreligious government. They prohibited usury and tried to institute a aggressive land reform program. This latter element would ignite a rebellion by the mujahedeen, which led to the endless destabilization of the country through the following Soviet invasion, the Afghan Civil War after the Soviet withdrawal, the rise of the Taliban and today, the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan.
So, what if King Zahir Shah was never overthrown by his cousin and remained as King of Afghanistan for the foreseeable future?
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