Being born in Afghanistan, the heart of Asia and also known as the graveyard of empires, was once a privilege. It used to offer geographic benefits due to its antiquity and its rich history. And also, its strategic location at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Aisa benefited many in terms of trade.

However, decades of war, and especially the 1978’s communist revolution’s establishment of a socialist state invited coups, invasions, insurgencies and civil wars. It was the same people born in Afghanistan, guardians of Afghanistan, who devastated it for impressing and imposing their ideologies on common masses. Thenceforth, whoever is born in Afghanistan he is the most unfortunate of all.

The ongoing war had destroyed roads, clinics, and hospitals. The doctors and midwives afraid of their lives stayed away from clinics and hospitals. And if there were any available, the lack of means of transportation made it hard for the childbearing mothers to access it. All these resulted in many miscarriages, mother’s death after childbirth, and sometimes the death of both mother and child.

I was Born in Afghanistan

However, the exceptionally unfortunate children are of Shia Hazaras, who even if survived the labor in such harsh conditions, would have to go through years of persecutions in hand of tribes in power.

Shia Hazaras have been the subject of ethnic cleansing and genocide from late 19th century, in Afghanistan. More than 60% of Hazaras population have been massacred, sold into slavery and sent into exile. And their lands captured and distributed among the Loyals of Amir during the rule of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.  

On 22nd October 1992, I was born in the heart of a war in Anguri, Jaghuri district of Ghazni. On account of my mother’s memories, our people were fighting in defense against Pashtoons. Later, a seize fire was announced and it was considered as a victory for our people.

When it came to naming the newborn, Peroz was announced by maternal grandfather. He stated proudly, “He is born with his name.” Considering Hazaras’ victory against Pashtoons, no one else had a word; thus, I was named Peroz, meaning victorious in Farsi.

The application of Red Terror Campaign After Saur/April Revolution

Almost 15 years before I was born in Afghanistan, People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan planned and executed Saur Revolution and overthrew Daud Khan’s Government. People unhappy with Daud’s government welcomed the revolution.

PDPA, with Nur Muhammad Taraki (a Khalqist) as Prime Minister, Babrak Karmal (a Parchamist) as senior Deputy Prime Minister and Hafizullah Amin (a Khalqist) as foreign Minister formed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA).

The unity between Khalq and Parcham was only brief: Amin and General Mohammad Aslam Watanjar conveyed in a meeting that the revolution was the work of Khalq and that Parcham had no part of it. Taraki and Amin in early July relieved most of the Parchamites from their government positions.

Following the April coup, Khalqists, also introduced severe repression of a kind previously unknown in Afghanistan. Taraki was a hardline Leninist who advocated the implementation of a campaign modelled after the Bolshevik “Red Terror” to impose Marxist policies in Afghanistan.

Influenced by the practices of the Russian Bolsheviks, the PDPA regime launched a vicious crackdown across the country; arresting, torturing and killing tens of thousands of people, implementing a strategy of “killing the population into submission.”

Between April 1978 and October 1979, Khalqists murdered more than 50,000 Afghans during their campaign of “red terror”. During this period, more than 27,000 people were killed by the Khalqist regime in the notorious Pul-e-Charkhi prison alone. 

Those killed in the campaign included landowners, religious clerics, Islamists, political dissidents, intellectuals, former bureaucrats of the Republic of Afghanistan, and any alleged critics of PDPA regime’s ruthless policies.

Discontent fomented amongst the people of Afghanistan, and the first anti-government revolts began in Kunar Province, in October 1978. And several other uprisings were witnessed the following year most notably that in Herat. Thus, most provinces in the country came under guerilla control.

The Break Between Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin

Amin successfully managed to crush the uprising in Herat and other parts of the country. He blamed United Kingdom and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for helping the counter-revolutionaries and played down American and Chinese involvement. Amin’s cautious behavior was in deep contrast to the Soviet Union’s official stance on the situation.

Alexander Puzanov, the Soviet ambassador to Afghanistan, was able to persuade Aslam Watanjar, Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy and Sherjan Mazdoryar to become part of a conspiracy against Amin. These three men put pressure on Taraki to sack Amin from office.

Taraki brought many reforms in the government structure, and Homeland Higher Defense Council was formed to handle the security matters. He promoted Amin to the post of prime minister, where he could decide the fate of a minister, however, with the consent of Taraki. All these weakened the position of Amin, and his control over the army, however he had succeeded to appoint his allies in some of the most important ministry posts.

Taraki, after returning from Havana Summit, instead of reporting about it to the cabinet, indirectly tried to dismiss Amin from his position as per the plot of the Soviets. He sought to neutralise Amin’s power and influence by requesting that he serve overseas as an ambassador, but Amin turned down the proposal.

The following day, Taraki invited Amin to the Arg (the Presidential palace) for lunch with him and the Gang of Four. Inside the palace on 14 September, bodyguards within the building opened fire on the visitors. Tarun was killed but Amin only sustained injuries and escaped to his car, driving to the Ministry of Defence.

Shortly afterwards, Amin placed the Army on high alert, ordered the detainment of Taraki, and telephoned Puzanov about the incident. That evening at 6:30, tanks from the 4th Armoured Corps entered the city and stood at government positions. Amin returned to the Arg with a contingent of Army officers and placed Taraki under arrest. The Gang of Four, however, had “disappeared”, taking refuge at the Soviet embassy. Later, Taraki was killed by Amin’s orders.

Soviet Invasion and the Mujahideen born in Afghanistan

On 16 September 1979, Amin named himself Chairman of the Council of Ministers (head of government), Chairman of the Revolutionary Council (head of state), and General Secretary of the PDPA Central Committee (supreme leader)

Soviet Union was unhappy with assassination of Taraki, and Amin had failed to stop the ongoing uprisings from all Afghanistan. Moreover, Amin had before accused Soviet of intervening in DRA’s affairs, and he had friendly gestures towards United States, Pakistan and Republic of China.

Soviet found itself in a position of no choice but to start an unwanted invasion. They feared loss of control on the territory and also if they remained inactive Iran’s newly successful revolution might inspire Muslims in Afghanistan and then Muslims in Soviet territory for Islamic Revolution.

Soviet troops, in the disguise of Afghan Army Uniform, to assist its puppet DRA in crushing the uprisings, entered Afghanistan along two ground routes and one air corridor, quickly taking control of the major urban centers, military bases and strategic installations. Then, Soviet operatives assassinated Amin at the Tajbeg Palace on 27 December 1979 as part of Operation Storm-333.

The Soviets held the view that their presence would be accepted after having rid Afghanistan of the “tyrannical” Khalq regime, but this was not to be. However, the presence of Soviet troops did not have the desired effect of pacifying the country. On the contrary, it exacerbated nationalistic sentiment, causing the rebellion to spread further. 

The invasion of a practically defenseless country was shocking for the international community and caused a sense of alarm for its neighbor Pakistan. Britain feared that Russia sought access to the Indian Ocean and posed a threat to Western security. The general feeling in the United States was that inaction against the Soviet Union could encourage Moscow to go further in its international ambitions. China condemned the Soviet coup and its military buildup, calling it a threat to Chinese security, that it marked the worst escalation of Soviet expansionism in over a decade.

The militants of the Afghan mujahidin were recruited and organized immediately, initially from the regular Afghan population and defectors from the Afghan military, with the aim of waging an armed struggle against both the communist government of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, and the Soviet Union.

Weapons supplies were made available through numerous countries. Before the Soviet intervention, the insurgents received support from the United States, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya and Kuwait, albeit on a limited scale.

After the intervention, aid was substantially increased. The United States purchased all of Israel’s captured Soviet weapons clandestinely, and then funnelled the weapons to the Mujahideen, while Egypt upgraded its army’s weapons and sent the older weapons to the militants. Turkey sold their World War II stockpiles to the warlords, and the British and Swiss provided Blowpipe missiles and Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns respectively, after they were found to be poor models for their own forces. China provided the most relevant weapons, likely due to their own experience with guerrilla warfare. The US, Saudi and Chinese aid combined totaled between $6 billion and $12 billion.

Babrak Karmal, Afghanistan’s new leadership, charged the Soviets with causing an increase in the unrest, and demanded that the 40th Army step in and quell the rebellion, as his own army had proved untrustworthy. 

Thus, Soviet troops found themselves drawn into fighting against urban uprisings, tribal armies (called lashkar), and sometimes against mutinying Afghan Army units. These forces mostly fought in the open, and Soviet airpower and artillery made short work of them.

In the first week of January 1980, attacks against Soviet soldiers in Kabul became common, with roaming soldiers often assassinated in the city in broad daylight by civilians. In the summer of that year, numerous members of the ruling party would be assassinated in individual attacks.

The Soviet Army quit patrolling Kabul in January 1981 after their losses due to terrorism, handing the responsibility over to the Afghan army. Tensions in Kabul peaked during the 3 Hoot uprising on 22 February 1980, when the Soviet soldiers murdered hundreds of protesters. The city uprising took a dangerous turn once again during the student demonstrations of April and May 1980, in which scores of students were killed by soldiers and PDPA sympathizers.

The opposition to the Soviet presence was great nationally, crossing regional, ethnic, and linguistic lines. Never before in Afghan history had this many people been united in opposition against an invading foreign power.

In Kandahar a few days after the invasion, civilians rose up against Soviet soldiers, killing a number of them, causing the soldiers to withdraw to their garrison. In this city, 130 Khalqists were murdered between January and February 1980.

There were many ideologically different factions among the mujahidin, with the most influential being the Jamiat-e Islami and Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin parties. The Afghan mujahidin were generally divided into two distinct alliances: the larger and more significant Sunni Islamic union collectively referred to as the “Peshawar Seven“, based in Pakistan, and the smaller Shia Islamic union collectively referred to as the “Tehran Eight”, based in Iran; as well as independent units that referred to themselves as “mujahidin”.

The “Peshawar Seven” alliance received heavy assistance from the United States (Operation Cyclone), the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China, as well as other countries and private international donors.

The Soviet-Afghan war continued for almost ten years. The war left at least 1 million Afghans dead and other millions were forced to flee their home. Soviets lost at least 15000 lives and hundreds of aircrafts and other military equipment. They found themselves stuck in war that they neither could win nor withdraw.

Soviet Union’s Withdrawal from Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

After the death of Leonid Brezhnev, the political will for Soviet involvement in Afghanistan dwindled. The level of Soviet forces in the country was not adequate to achieve exhaustive military victory, and could only prevent the allied DRA from losing ground. 

The Soviet Union began the gradual process of withdrawal from Afghanistan by installing Muhammed Najibullah Ahmadzai as the General Secretary of the Afghan Communist Party, seeing him to be capable of ruling without serious involvement from the Soviet Union. 

Babrak Karmal, Najibullah’s predecessor, was deemed by the Soviet leadership to be an obstacle to both military withdrawal and the diplomatic process. Although Soviet military, diplomatic and intelligence agencies were not singleminded about his appointment, Najibullah was seen as a leader that could work with the Soviet Union in order to find a negotiated settlement.

Mirroring shifts within the USSR itself, the Soviet effort in Afghanistan placed “a much greater emphasis on pacification through winning over rebel commanders” rather than transforming “Afghanistan along Marxist lines [,] winning over the population through economic incentives and establishing a party and government influence in the cities and countryside”.

As a whole, the policies the Soviet Union and their allies powers in Afghanistan pursued after the transition of power from Babrak to Najibullah were referred to as the Policy of National Reconciliation

Afghanistan Interim Government in Exile

4 Years before I was born in Afghanistan, Afghanistan’s fate was about to be decided. After ten years of invasion the Soviet was withdrawing all its troops. President Dr. Najibullah, for most a national hero and others a communist supported by Soviet, and the government of People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan in Kabul were destined to collapse.

The Peshawar seven, Sunni Mujahideen anti-Soviet resistance groups based in Peshawar Pakistan, according to Peshawar Accords, formed Afghan Interim Government (AIG) in exile and would take control of Kabul as soon as the last regiment of Soviets leave the country.

The Tehran Eight based in Tehran, later united into Hezb-e Wahdat, being the second most influential Shia Mujahideen anti-Soviet resistance groups and composed of mostly ethnic Hazaras, demanded a negotiation with the Peshawar Seven, while they were in exile.

Representing the fourth largest ethnicity after losing more than its 60% population, Abdul Ali Mazari, the leader of Hezb-e Wahdat suggested a power sharing government where they are given a quarter of the share. The Peshawar Seven denied them of any part in the government and stated that Shiites did not count as a significant community, deserving to be included in the negotiation process.

Hezb-e Wahdat believing in all ethnic participative government, tried a different strategy. Delegations were sent to all commanders and tribal leaders of other ethnicities in the provinces rather than Peshawar. They were tasked with exploring a common political strategy for collectively bargaining over the rights of minorities. Thus, alliance was formed with General Dostum’s Junbish-i-Milli, and Ahmad Shah Masood’s Shura-e Nazar.

Dr. Najibullah Resigned as the President of Afghanistan

The year I was born in Afghanistan, Dr. Najibullah resigned as the President of Afghanistan, and PDPA’s government came to an end after 14 years. Dr. Najib had defended Afghanistan against mujahideens for more than three years after the complete withdrawal of Soviet’s troops.

He assumed the presidency in 1987 and held this position until his resignation in April 1992. Following the August Coup in Moscow and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Najibullah found himself without foreign aid.

Moreover, his government faced internal challenges, including the defection of General Abdul Rashid Dostum. This defection weakened his administration. Nonetheless, the combination of lack of foreign support and the internal breakdown of his government led to Najibullah’s resignation in April 1992.

Kabul After Soviet Union’s Withdrawal

The AIG was weak, as it only included the Peshawar Seven and not nationalists or tribal elders. After the Soviet withdrawal, the AIG attempted to establish itself within Afghan territory.

The mujahidin and Pakistani forces attacked the city of Jalalabad in March 1989, visioning a final victory towards Kabul, but were disastrously defeated by the Afghan Army.

The rivalry between Hekmatyar and the Jamiat-i Islami only increased, leading to Hekmatyar’s resignation from the AIG. He eventually decided to go at the Kabul regime in a very different way: a coalition with Khalq communists of General Shahnawaz Tanai, which caused many resignations in his party in protest. Together, they launched a coup attempt in 1990 to oust the Parchamite Mohammed Najibullah, but failed.

On the other hand, the Peshawar Seven kept attacking Kabul and finally managed to take control of the state in April 1992. Burhannudin Rabbani, leader of Tajik Hezb-e Islami, was selected to rule Afghanistan for two years as the President.

However, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the seven, also wanted to have a share in power, and succeeded to get it after attacking Kabul. Gulbuddin was appointed as a prime minister, and Rabbani’s tenure decreased to one and a half years.

Later, the alliance of Wahdat, Junbesh and Massooud’s Shura-e Nazar collapsed as they attempted to take control of Kabul. Similarly, the political arrangements among the Peshawar Seven also fell apart. All these turned the city into a battleground for the most devastating and atrocious conflicts.

Fighting between different rebel factions continued, however, and Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan was largely destroyed.

Rise of the Taliban

The civil war offered an opportunity for the newly established, Pashtun-dominated Islamic fundamentalist militia, called the Taliban, religious students, to claim Afghanistan. Taliban managed to conquer large parts of southern Afghanistan with the support of Pakistan. 

According to Hazara Press, On March 12, 1995, the Taliban requested a meeting with Abdul Ali Mazari and a delegation of Wahdat Central Party. However, on their arrival they were abducted, tortured and killed brutally.

Later, the Taliban were able to seize control of the capital city of Kabul. The Rabbani government and other factions fled northward, and by the end of the year Taliban occupied two-thirds of Afghanistan. They had occupied major cities and provinces, and they were charging forward towards the villages.

Afghans born in Afghanistan started Migration to Pakistan

Considering the exacerbating situation of Afghanistan and the never-ending wars, thousands of families including mine started migration to Pakistan. I was just a little boy of around two to three years old when my family fled from Afghanistan in an effort to stay safe from the atrocities others faced under fundamentalist Taliban rulers.

My family migrated to Pakistan, with hopes for a peaceful and prosperous life. However years later, Pakistan, though the best refuge for millions of Afghan war affected refugees, proved to be an unpromised home. Despite all the love you show and all the affection you feel for it, and despite living your whole life in it, Pakistan will not accept you as its own.