An Afghanistan Picture Show: Or, How I Saved the World (35 page)

1839
The first Russian attempt to conquer Bokhara fails.

1842
The First Afghan War having proved to be a disaster, the British withdraw from Afghanistan, paying compensation and leaving hostages. Later they take their retribution, and a Colonel Sutherland writes, “It is a comfort to be able to look a native in the face again with confidence.” Then they leave again.

1843
Sind falls to the British.

1844
Russia and Great Britain agree to act in the spirit of Count Nesselrode’s memorandum, which recommends that the two powers preserve the internal peace of Persia by leaving Bokhara, Khiva and Samarkand as buffer states.

(
1846
Kashmir falls to the British
.

1849
The Punjab falls to the British
.)

1853
The Crimean War ends this happy cooperation.

1855
The Afghans annex Kandahar, which, with Herat, has often changed hands between Afghanistan and Persia.

1856
The Persians seize Herat in retaliation, and announce that they will next occupy Kandahar and establish themselves on the borders of the Punjab, a British area. The British therefore join cause with the Afghans against the Persians and defeat them.

1859
The British occupy Baluchistan.

1863
The Afghans regain Herat.

1865
The Russians occupy Tashkent.

1867
The new province of Russian Turkestan is established. Bokhara falls to Russia.

1869
Referring to the Nesselrode memorandum, the Russian Prince Gortchakoff suggests Afghanistan as the next buffer zone. The British put him off, saying that the frontiers are too ill defined.

1873
Khiva falls to Russia.

Russia gives up Badakhshan and Wakhan to Afghanistan in exchange for British recognition of the new frontier. Afghanistan is now the only neutral area between the British and the Russians. Sher Ali, the Afghan monarch, asks Lord Northbrook for assurance of British assistance in the event of a Russian invasion of his country. The British refuse. Sher Ali decides that he must cultivate the Russians.

1875
The British become alarmed at the frequent correspondence between Russia and Afghanistan. They become more so when a Russian mission is established at Kabul.

1876
The British sign a treaty with the Khan of Kalat, allowing Empire troops to occupy Quetta. Meanwhile, the Russians make a similar arrangement in Kokand.

1878
Following rejection of their ultimatum demanding the establishment of a British Resident in Kabul, the British invade Afghanistan, precipitating the Second Afghan War (1878–81).

1879
The British retire the bulk of their army after obtaining acquiescence to the presence of a British Resident and the annexation of the Khyber Pass. They begin paying a subsidy to the Amir of Kabul. At the right moment, the Afghans attack the Residence and slaughter all the defenders. Fierce guerrilla-style clashes occur for the next two years, with the Afghans inflicting very respectable casualties. In the end a pro-British government is installed.

1881
The British evacuate Afghanistan.

1884
Baron de Staal, the Russian Ambassador in London, receives his instructions: Russia will maintain its “expansion in Central Asia, leading us to occupy to-day in Turkestan and the Turkestan steppes a military position strong enough to keep England in check by the threat of intervention in India.”

At this opportune moment, the chieftains of Merv are persuaded to tender allegiance to the Russian Emperor.

1893
The Durand Line is drawn to delineate the border between Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier Province of British India. Peshawar and the Khyber Pass are included in the British dominions.

1896
Pamir falls to Russia.

1901
The British draw another line, and the North-West Frontier Province becomes a separate entity from the Punjab.

In Afghanistan, Habibullah succeeds to the throne.

1907
At the Anglo-Russian Convention, Russia agrees that Afghanistan is outside its sphere of influence, and Britain agrees not to occupy or annex the country.

1914
World War I breaks out. Afghanistan is neutral.

1917
The Great October Socialist Revolution takes place in Russia. The Bolsheviki abrogate the secret protocols of the Tsarist regime, and grant independence to previous rump states such as Bokhara. Later they change their minds and nibble them up again.

1919
Constitutional monarchy is adopted in Afghanistan. Amanullah Khan succeeds to the throne. At this point the issue of Afghan independence is as inflammatory as Pushtunistan will be after World War II. Declaring his
country’s complete autonomy from any foreign power, Amanullah strikes at British holdings along the frontier, precipitating the Third Afghan War. Allegations are made that the British use chemical warfare against the Afghans. After some inconclusively bloody events, the British recognize Afghanistan’s independence, but not before the Russians do. This year Afghanistan receives its first Soviet subsidy.

1921
A Soviet-Afghan treaty is signed recognizing current frontiers. The Khanate of Bokhara falls to the Soviets. Throughout the decade, various revolts against Soviet power take place in Central Asia, but without success.

1926
The Soviets and the Afghans sign a Pact of Neutrality and Mutual Non-Aggression.

1928
Having taken a leaf from Peter the Great’s book, Amanullah tours Europe and returns to abolish the veil, open coeducational schools and begin construction of a new capitol. Religious leaders encourage revolt. Amanullah is deposed by Bacha Saqqao.

1929
One of Amanullah’s generals, Muhammed Nadir Khan, comes out of exile to depose and execute Bacha Saqqao. He then takes the throne as Nadir Shah, and repeals Amanullah’s reforms.

1931
“Soviet-Afghan economic relations unfailingly responded to the interests of Afghanistan. A new Soviet-Afghan treaty in 1931 on neutrality and mutual nonaggression helped strengthen Afghanistan’s independence” (
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
, 3rd ed. [trans.], vol. II).

1933
Zaher Shah, last king of Afghanistan, succeeds to the throne upon the assassination of his father (November 8).

1934
The United States officially recognizes Afghanistan.

1935
The Germans, Japanese and Italians begin economic activities in Afghanistan. The Nazis explain that whereas Japanese are only “honorary Aryans,” Afghans are true Aryans.

1936
The Soviets are refused permission to establish a trade mission in Afghanistan.

1939
World War II breaks out. Afghanistan is again neutral.

1940
The Soviet Union agrees in principle to Nazi Germany’s suggested Four-Power Pact, in which “the Soviet Union declares that its territorial aspirations center south of the national territory of the U.S.S.R. in the direction of the
Indian Ocean.” Buhrhanuddin Rabbani, future leader of Jamiat-i-Islami, is born in Faizabad.

1941
Britain and Russia request that Afghanistan expel all nondiplomatic Axis personnel. Afghanistan responds by expelling
all
nondiplomatic personnel.

1942–43
The United States and Afghanistan exchange diplomatic missions.

1946
A year after the end of World War II, American firms begin operating in Afghanistan. Over the next few years, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. both give the country development loans and aid.

1947
British India is partitioned into India and Pakistan. Hindu-Muslim hostility creates bad feeling between the two countries from the start. Resettlement of Indian Muslims in Pakistan and Pakistani Hindus in India is accompanied by mutual atrocities. The North-West Frontier Province is given the choice of belonging to India or to Pakistan. It selects the latter. But some Pathans say it should have been given the option of independence, since the tribal areas in the N.W.F.P. are not mere territories but sovereign khanates.

In both Pakistan and Afghanistan there is growing agitation for a “Pushtunistan,” or separate state for the Pathan tribes, who live in the border areas of both countries. Afghan Pathans call upon Pakistan to hold a plebiscite in the N.W.F.P.; Pakistan refuses. When Pakistan applies for membership in the United Nations, Afghanistan casts the sole dissenting vote by reason of the Pushtunistan issue.

1948
Pakistan and Afghanistan exchange ambassadors.

1949
In the course of quelling unrest in the tribal areas, Pakistan air-bombs the village of Moghulgai, 2,100 yards inside Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Afghan Afridi tribesmen meet inside Pakistan to found Pushtunistan. Riots ensue.

The “Liberal Parliament” is established in Afghanistan. Some freedom of the press is permitted. A student movement springs up.

1950
Pakistan stops petroleum traffic to Afghanistan for three months. Afghanistan and the Soviet Union sign a four-year barter agreement. The student movement becomes more aggressive, attacking Islam and the Royal Family.

1951
Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, is assassinated by an Afghan. In Afghanistan, the student union is dissolved.

1952
The Soviets establish a trade office in Kabul. They export enough grain and cement to allow the Afghans to lift rationing on these commodities. Due
to continuing unrest, all non-government newspapers are closed. Mr. Hafizullah Amin, a man of considerable ambition, becomes Cultural Officer of the Embassy of the Royal Government of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C. “The future is hidden from us,” says Wittgenstein. “But does the astronomer think like this when he calculates an eclipse of the sun?”
^*

1953
Muhammed Daoud, first cousin of Zaher Shah, becomes Prime Minister of Afghanistan. Daoud requests military aid from the United States and is refused.

1954
The U.S.S.R. loans Afghanistan $3.5 million. Pakistan signs a Mutual Security Agreement with the United States. Daoud requests military aid from the United States and is refused.

1955
A war almost breaks out over the Pushtunistan question. Pakistan closes the border for five months. Soviet Premier Bulganin says that his country supports Afghanistan’s demands for a plebiscite. The peace-loving democratic peoples of the U.S.S.R. offer the Afghans arms to use against the Pakistanis, and award them a $100 million development loan. Daoud requests military aid from the United States and is refused. Amin joins the staff of U.S.A.I.D. in Kabul. The 1931 Soviet-Afghan Treaty of Neutrality and Non-Aggression is extended for another ten years.

1956
The Afghans make “major development agreements” with the Soviet Union. The United States funds a $15 million airport in Kandahar. Amir Sayyid ’Alim Khan, the last ruler of Bokhara, dies in exile. Afghanistan receives $25 million in military aid from the Soviet Union and East Bloc countries. Some of this money is used to construct airfields, which the Soviets will find very convenient in 1979. In reaction to Daoud, the Islamic Movement, the nucleus of the religious Mujahideen factions, is formed by professors in Kabul. Rabbani becomes a member.

1957
Women announcers begin working for Radio Afghanistan.

1959
During Independence Week celebration, the wives and daughters of the Royal Family and dignitaries appear unveiled. When the mullahs protest to Daoud, he has them thrown in jail.

1961
On August 23, Pakistan and Afghanistan break diplomatic relations, and the Pakistan-Afghanistan border is closed. Various skirmishes occur in the N.W.F.P. over the Pushtunistan question.

1962
Amin becomes a translator for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

1963
Prime Minister Daoud resigns (March 9). He is succeeded by the commoner Dr. Muhammed Yousuf. The border with Pakistan is re-opened, and diplomatic relations re-established.

1964
A liberalized Islamic constitution is promulgated. Women are given equality under the law. Zaher Shah remains king, but the Royal Family is prohibited from entering politics. (This bars Daoud, for instance, from returning to power, because he is a member of the Royal Family.) The Doshi-Jabal Us-Seraj road is completed between Kabul and the Soviet border.

1965
The first national elections are held. (With what ironic sadness does one remember this now!) Political parties appear on the scene: conservatives, centrists, liberals and leftists. In July, the newspaper
Khalq
(
The Masses
) first appears. Its publisher is a man named Nur Muhammad Taraki, about whom Louis Dupree remarks: “The novel as found in the West is rare in the Middle East and virtually unknown in Afghanistan. One well-known leftist journalist, Nur Muhammad Taraki, is considered to be a budding Persian-language novelist, however.”
^†
Khalq
is the organ of the Democratic People’s Party, formed by Taraki on January 1. A more extremist wing of the D.P.P. publishes
Parcham
(
The Flag
), a magazine to which Mr. Babrak Karmal is a frequent contributor. Babrak calls for the formation of a “United Democratic Front” to achieve socialism by evolution from within the system. (Both wings, Parcham and Khalq, are politically right of a third group within the D.P.P. called Shu’la-yi-Jawed, “the Eternal Flame.”) Babrak and a woman deputy of the D.P.P., Dr. Ananhita, are elected to Parliament. Babrak urges the students to come and demonstrate, which they do with such vigor that Parliament must be adjourned. On October 25, government troops fire on student demonstrators, killing three. On October 29, Mohammad Hashim Mawamdal succeeds Dr. Yousuf as Prime Minister.