TheAfghan Civil War of 1989–1992 (Pashto: له ۱۹۸۹ څخه تر ۱۹۹۲ پوري د افغانستان کورنۍ جګړه), also known as theFirst Afghan Civil War, took place between theSoviet withdrawal from Afghanistan on 15 February 1989 which ended theSoviet–Afghan War, and 27 April 1992, the day after the proclamation of thePeshawar Accords proclaiming a new interim Afghan government which was supposed to start serving on 28 April 1992.
Mujahideen groups, some of them ostensibly united as part of the "Afghan Interim Government", in the years 1989–1992 proclaimed as their conviction that they were battling the hostile "puppet regime" of theRepublic of Afghanistan inKabul.[8] In March 1989, the "Afghan Interim Government" in cooperation with the PakistaniInter-Services Intelligence (ISI) attacked the city ofJalalabad but they were defeated by June in what is now known as theBattle of Jalalabad.Hekmatyar'sHezbi Islami would pull their support for the Afghan Interim Government following the loss in Jalalabad.
In March 1991, a mujahideen coalition quickly conquered the city ofKhost. In March 1992, having lost the last remnants of Soviet support, PresidentMohammad Najibullah agreed to step aside and make way for a mujahideen coalition government. One mujahideen group,Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, refused to confer and discuss a coalition government under the Pakistani sponsoredPeshawar Peace Accords and invaded Kabul with the help ofKhalqist Generals. This triggered a civil war, starting on 25 April 1992, between initially three, but within weeks five or six mujahideen groups or armies.
In October 1978, opponents of the reforms of thePeople's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) government, including modernizing traditional Islamic civil and marriage laws, changing the national flag to a Soviet-stylered flag, and forcing land reform, started a revolt, and called themselves 'mujahideen'.
In spite of aUN General Assembly resolution condemning the 1979 USSR invasion and theOrganisation of Islamic Cooperation demanding immediate Soviet withdrawal, the Russians stayed until early 1989. They managed to take control of major cities and strategic installations, thus acerbating nationalistic feelings among rebels who drew Soviet troops into war with urban uprisings and tribal armies. The Soviets leveled villages, destroyed irrigation ditches and laid millions of mines in an attempt to root out the mujahideen rebels. In those nine years, between 500,000 and 2 million Afghans were killed and millions were displaced, and in large numbers fled into neighboring countries.The new Soviet leaderMikhail Gorbachev, taking charge in 1985, pressured bythe People's Republic of China, in 1987 announced his intention to withdraw from Afghanistan, which withdrawal took place between May 1988 and February 1989.[citation needed]
The mujahideen resistance movement had started chaotically in 1978 and had always stayed highly segmented along regional, ethnic, tribal and religious lines: after four years the mujahideen operated from an estimated 4,000 bases, a typical commander leading a few hundred men. In 1985, seven largerSunni Islamic rebel groups had coordinated their fight against the Soviets, who were also known as the Pakistani backedPeshawar 7 Mujahideen Alliance. After the Soviets had left Afghanistan in February 1989, some smaller groups put down arms or joined the government however the larger mujahideen groups continued their fight against the PDPA-government of PresidentMohammad Najibullah, who was still massively supported by the Soviet Union,[9][8] and establish a Islamist government. Many of these larger Mujahedeen groups such asJamiat had existed years before the PDPA seized power. Leaders such asAhmad Shah Massoud andJalaluddin Haqqani attempted uprisings (with Pakistani support) in 1974 against the government ofDaoud Khan. These uprisings failed and many of these groups fled to Pakistan to be trained by the ISI in a future insurgency against the Daoud Khan government, which would be overthrown byPDPA military officers only 4 years later.[10]
According to published reports during the 1980s,Gulbuddin Hekmatyar'sHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin developed a reputation for attacking other resistance forces, especially those ofAhmad Shah Massoud, and raiding or blocking their food and arms supplies as well as caravans of relief organizations.[11] According to author Steve Coll, Hekmatyar attacked Ahmad Shah Massoud so often that Washington (who was supporting him through Pakistan) "feared he might be a secretKGB plant whose mission was to sow disruption within the anti-communist resistance."[11] Reports suggest that Hekmatyar's commanders were saving their men and weapons to establish Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin as the dominant organization once the Soviets departed.[11]
In 1989, Hekmatyar's forces once again conducted an attack on forces ofAhmad Shah Massoud, this time targeting Massoud and the senior leadership ofShura-e Nazar – Massoud's military and political alliance of 130 northern commanders.[12] While they were not able to kill or injure Massoud, Hekmatyar's forces tortured to death 30 of Massoud's men, some of whom were close friends of Massoud.[12] Survivors describe the torture as pulling their eyes out, cutting their ears and noses off, and cutting their stomachs open.[12] Massoud consequently ordered an operation to hunt down the murderers. Shura-e Nazar were able to capture the assassins, but instead of revenge killings, Massoud sent them to Peshawar to have them tried before a court.[12] The courts sentenced them to death.Ahmad Shah Massoud for the sake of Afghan unity declared: "My message to Hekmatyar's people is that without a united front we cannot succeed, we cannot achieve anything in Afghanistan."[12]Roy Gutman of theUnited States Institute of Peace considered Massoud "the only Afghan leader with an integrated vision".[13]
Through this period (1987–89) both Massoud and Hekmatyar had been frequently fighting each other and killing each other's officers, and Massoud's rhetoric was rarely matched by action. In 1988, for instance, Massoud's forces attacked Hekmatyar loyalists inBadakhshan Province. In 1989, Massoud arrested and executed one of Hekmatyar's local officers, Jamal Agha, whom he accused of having murdered a number ofJamiat-e-Islami commandants: Mohammad Izzatullah, Mohammad Islamuddin, Mulla Abdul-Wadoud, and Payinda Mohammad.
However, Hekmatyar's supporters accused Massoud of having killed these commandants to centralize his authority in Jamiat's ranks and framed Jamal, whom they claimed had good relations with the victims. This was stated byHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin supporter Mohammad Tanwir Halim in his book published in 2013. However, this version of the story is uncorroborated and Hekmatyar was widely unpopular in any case for his vicious murders, though this was not necessarily true of his commanders some of whom like Abdul-Rauf Safi, Abdul-Sabour Farid and perhaps Jamal enjoyed decent relations with other groups. Massoud later appointed Abdul-Rauf Safi as Kabul commandant. Hekmatyar's supporters also accused Massoud of treachery because of his ceasefires with Soviet forces and in this they had the support of Jamaat leader Mohammad Eshaq who also criticized Massoud for his ceasefire with the Soviets during the second half of the occupation. It appears that Massoud was trying to form a base independent of Pakistan, and in this endeavour he did make deals with governments traditionally hostile to the mujahideen, including India and the Soviets however the Soviet forces by request of Afghan PresidentMohammad Najibullah attacked Massoud's forces before withdrawing duringOperation Typhoon, killing over 600 members of Jamiat.
However, accusations of treachery by both sides seem far-fetched. The Pakistani coordinator, Mohammed Yousaf, does not challenge Massoud's version of Jamal story despite Pakistan's hostility towards Massoud, and in any case it has become a fait accompli. Similarly, Palestinian mujahideen leaderAbdullah Azzam claimed that Massoud was a legendary fighter, though Azzam notably rarely criticized any mujahideen leaders to avoid friction.
After theSoviet withdrawal on 15 February 1989, the government of PresidentMohammad Najibullah and hisPeople's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) was on its own. The U.S. intelligence agencies expected the regime to collapse within three to six months.[14]
However, this estimation did not take into account several assets available to theDemocratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) government. The first of these was the large quantities of military hardware donated by the Soviet Union. In 1989, the army and pro-governmentmilitias andparamilitaries still had 1,568tanks, 828armoured personnel carriers, 4,880artillery pieces, 126 modern fighter-bombers and 14attack helicopters. Also, the DRA continued to receive massive aid from the Soviet Union, valued between two and six billion dollars a year, and Soviet military advisors were still present in Afghanistan.[9] The government forces also came to rely on the use of large quantities ofScud missiles: between 1988 and 1992 more than 2,000 of these were fired by the99th Missile Brigade of theAfghan Armed Forces. It was the largest amount of ballistic missiles used sinceWorld War II. This considerable amount of firepower was sufficient to keep themujahideen at bay. TheDRA heavily relied on keeping theSalang Pass open to supply its troops.[15]
99th Missile Brigade:The99th Missile Brigade was responsible for Kabul'sScud Missile arsenal; the Brigade consisted of Afghans as well as five Soviet volunteers. The Brigade launched around 2,000 missiles between 1989 and 1992.[16][17][18][19] The brigade was founded in the 1980s during theSoviet–Afghan War, with resources to the brigade increasing drastically following the Soviet withdrawal. Members of the99th participated in theBattle of Jalalabad, theSiege of Khost as well as a few retaliatory strikes against Pakistan for violating the Afghan airspace.[16][17]
Abdul Rashid Dostum'sJowzjani militia, officially called the53rd Infantry Division, was the most effective pro-governmentmilitia. Numbering 40,000 men drawn from theUzbek minority, it took its orders directly fromNajibullah, who used it as a strategicreserve force andparamilitary. After 1989, this force was the only one capable of carrying out offensive operations.[20]
The U.S. providedAhmad Shah Massoud with little to no support despiteThe Wall Street Journal calling him "the Afghan who won the Cold War", and the one ego was primarily responsible for the mujahideen victory. Massoud instead did get support from theUnited Kingdom specificallyMI6 and direct support with theSAS. Part of the reason why he still got only minor support was that the U.S. permitted its funding and arms distribution to be administered byPakistan which favoredGulbuddin Hekmatyar who considered himself the archenemy of Massoud. Massoud was also seen as "too independent". The Pakistanis did however grant a base of operations in Pakistan and assisted Jamiat forces militarily during theBadaber Uprising. Primary advocates for still supporting Massoud instead were State Department'sEdmund McWilliams and Peter Tomsen, who were on the ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Others included twoHeritage Foundation neoconservative foreign policy analysts,Michael Johns and James A. Phillips, both of whom championed Massoud as the Afghan resistance leader most worthy of U.S. support under theReagan Doctrine.[21][22]
During theanti-Soviet war (1979–89), the United States had allowed Pakistan to funnel much American military aid toGulbuddin Hekmatyar's partyHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin.[21]The U.S. permitted its funding and arms distribution to be administered by Pakistan, which favoredGulbuddin Hekmatyar.[21][22]
According to the U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan in 1989–1992,Peter Tomsen, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was hired in 1990 by the PakistaniInter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to conquer and rule Afghanistan in the benefit of Pakistani interests, a plan which was delayed until 1992 as a result of US pressure to cancel it.[23]
One of the beneficiaries ofSaudi Arabian support, especially financial, wasAbdul Rasul Sayyaf and his armyIslamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan, also called Ittehad-e Islami.[21][22]
Another beneficiary of Saudi Arabian support, especially financial, wasJalaluddin Haqqani who had had strong contacts to Arab fighters in the war against the Soviets.[21][22]
In the spring of 1989, theSeven-Party (Afghanistan mujahideen) Union in Peshawar[8] supported by thePakistani intelligence agencyISI attackedJalalabad.[8][24] The ISI's Director Gul wanted to see a mujahideen government over Afghanistan,[24] led by Hekmatyar.[25]
Analysts disagree as to whether Pakistan's Prime MinisterBenazir Bhutto was totally kept in the dark about the ISI's plan to overthrow the Afghan government[24] or was one of the instigators of this attack.[25] One analyst stated that alsoUnited States Ambassador to PakistanRobert B. Oakley was exhortating[clarification needed] this mujahideen attack.[25] The Americans reportedly were motivated by their wish to humiliate the Marxists and send them out of Afghanistan "clinging to their helicopters", and thus avengethe fall of South Vietnam; Pakistan wished to establish a friendly government inKabul that would not backBaluch andPashtun separatists in western Pakistan.[26] The plan was forMasoud's forces to close theSalang pass paralyzing the Afghan government's supply lines.[15] The plan was to establish an interim government in Jalalabad which would be recognized by western nations as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.[15]
Involved in the operation were forces of Hekmatyar'sHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf'sIttehad-e Islami and Arab fighters, totalling 10,000 men. The attack began on 5 March 1989, and went well at first for the mujahideen, who captured the Jalalabad airfield before being counterattacked.[27]: 138 When government troops started to surrender, the attacking forces were soon blocked by the mainAfghan army positions held by the 11th Division, that were protected bybunkers, barbed wire and minefields. The government troops could count on intensive air support, as the Afghan air force flew 20 sorties a day over the battlefield.An-12 transport aircraft, modified to carry bombs, flew at high altitude out of range of theStinger missiles used by the mujahideen;cluster bombs were used intensively.[27]: 139 ThreeScud firing batteries, deployed around Kabul, the99th Missile Brigade fired more than 400missiles in support of the Jalalabad garrison.[16][17] Despite their imprecision, these weapons had a severe effect on the morale of the mujahedeen, who could do nothing to prevent them.[28][19] The Battle of Jalalabad is considered to be the most concentratedballistic missile campaign since theV2 Attacks onLondon in theSecond World War.[16][17][19]
By the middle of May, they had made no headway against the defences of Jalalabad, and were running low on ammunition. In July, they were unable to prevent theAfghan Army from recapturing the army base Samarkhel, Jalalabad was still firmly in the hands of Najibullah's government. The mujahideen suffered an estimated 3,000 casualties during this battle, 300 of which were Arab fighters.[29] An estimated 12,000–15,000 civilians were killed, while 10,000 had fled the fighting.[13] TheAfghan Army suffered around 1,500 casualties during the battle.[30]
Contrary to American and Pakistani expectations, this battle proved that theAfghan Army could fight without Soviet help, and greatly increased the confidence of government supporters. Conversely, the morale of the mujahideen involved in the attack slumped and many local commanders of Hekmatyar and Sayyaf concluded truces with the government.[31] The failure of the Battle can be attributed to the failure ofAhmad Shah Masoud's forces to close theSalang Pass allowingKabul to supply their forces.[15] In the words of Brigadier-General Mohammed Yousaf, an officer of the ISI, "thejihad never recovered from Jalalabad".[28] In particular of course Pakistan's plans to promote Hekmatyar were also harmed. Both the Pakistani and the American governments were frustrated with the outcome. As a result of this failure, GeneralHamid Gul was immediately sacked by Pakistani Prime MinisterBenazir Bhutto, and replaced with General Shamsur Rahman Kallu as the Director-General of theISI. Kallu pursued a more classical policy of support to the Afghan guerillas.[28] In this respect he cut off the barrier that his predecessors,Akhtar Abdur Rahman and Gul had placed between the mujahideen and the American secret service, which for the first time had direct access to the mujahedeen. The former Pakistani spies, such as Gul, had argued that this gave the United States an opportunity to both undercut Pakistan's interests as well as to weave discord among the mujahideen (something which Pakistan's promotion of Hekmatyar had of course done as well).[citation needed]
Indeed, with direct American access to the mujahideen – in particular that of the envoyPeter Tomsen, whose attitude towards independent Afghans was arrogant and arguably hostile in that he deemed them dangerous extremists without direct US supervision – any segment of mujahideen unity crumbled. Traditionally independent mujahideen leaders, such asYunus Khalis,Jalaluddin Haqqani, who had tried to unite the mujahideen rivals Massoud and Hekmatyar, now moved closer towards Pakistan because of their suspicion of the United States' intentions. (See alsoHaqqani network). Others, like Abdul Haq and Massoud, instead favoured the United States because of their tense relations with Pakistan. While Abdul Haq remained hostile towards the communist government and its militias, Massoud would go on to make controversial alliances with former communist figures. Massoud claimed that this was an attempt to unite Afghanistan, but his enemies such as Hekmatyar attacked him for this. Hekmatyar's push were also supported by Pakistan, so that by 1990 there was a definite (if loose) pair of competing axes – one promoted by Pakistan and including Hekmatyar, but also other mujahidin leaders such as Khalis, Jalaluddin Haqqani and other mujahideen leaders who were unsympathetic to Hekmatyar – and the other promoted by the United States and led by Massoud, but also including other leaders such as Abdul Haq who were unsympathetic to Massoud.[citation needed]The government forces further proved their worth in April 1990, during an offensive against a fortified complex atPaghman. After a heavy bombardment and an assault that lasted until the end of June, theAfghan Army, spearheaded by Dostum's militia, was able to clear the mujahideen entrenchments.[29]
The Jalalabad operation was seen as a grave mistake by some mujahideen leaders such asAhmad Shah Massoud andAbdul Haq, who did not believe the mujahideen had the capacity to capture a major city in conventional warfare.[32] Neither Massoud nor Haq claimed to have participated in the attack on Jalalabad. Massoud even said it was by BBC radio that he learned about the operation.[12] This is contradictory however as it has been stated Massoud was tasked with closing the Salang Pass, which he failed to do, thus leading to the failure to take Jalalabad.[33] Haq advocated the pursuit of coordinatedguerilla warfare, that would gradually weaken the communist regime and cause its collapse through internal divisions. Abdul Haq was also quoted as asking: "How is that we Afghans, who never lost a war, must take military instructions from the Pakistanis, who never won one?"[13]Ahmad Shah Massoud criticized the go-it-alone attitude of Pakistan and their Afghan followers stating: "The damage caused by our (Mujahideen forces) lack of a unified command is obvious. There is a total lack of coordination, which means we are not launching simultaneous offensives on different fronts. As a result, the government can concentrate its resources and pick us off one by one. And that is what has happened at Jalalabad."[12]
In June 1990, battles betweenAhmad Shah Massoud'sJamiat-e Islami andGulbuddin Hekmatyar'sHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin inLogar andParwan caused hundreds of casualties on each side.[34]
In two weeks' time (14–31 March 1991), mujahideen forces conquered the city ofKhost in eastern Afghanistan on the Kabul DRA Government. The battle was organized by the National Commanders' Shura (NCS) led byJalaluddin Haqqani and with representatives from all parties of theSeven-Party (mujahideen) Union, includingGulbuddin Hekmatyar andAbdul Rasul Sayyaf. One reason why the mujahideen succeeded here, was that once the Soviet Army had left the country, supplying the Government forces in Khost through the air had become too difficult. When the Government's garrison had run out of supplies, the DRA troops massively surrendered to the mujahidin.[8]
After aneleven-year siege, Khost fell toJalaluddin Haqqani's troops, that were in east Afghanistan, on 11 April 1991, following a negotiated surrender of the communist garrison. This was a coordinated effort where the final push came in an assault withIbrahim Haqqani acting as stand-in for Jalaluddin, who had been abroad at the time to raise funds and links. The commandant Gul Aqa was captured. It was claimed that much of the garrison had switched sides because the mujahidin fighters were offering amnesty and lenient treatment, partly an indication of Haqqani's skilful diplomacy. There was considerable irritation by Haqqani's forces when some Pakistani outlets claimed that Hekmatyar had acted as leader, in spite of the similarly close relationship between Haqqani and Pakistani soldiers. At this time Pakistan were strongly in favour of Hekmatyar, who would be their primary proxy until 1994 when they switched to Taliban movement. However, the veteran Pakistani reporter Rahimulah Yusufzai confirmed that it had been a coordinated effort with Jalaluddin Haqqani as overall leader. Haqqani also offered to mediate between the bitter opponents Massoud and Hekmatyar, though this came to nought.[35]
Despite its military successes, the communist regime of PresidentMohammad Najibullah was still plagued by its traditional internal divisions, namely the opposition between theKhalq andParcham factions.The DRA defense minister,Shahnawaz Tanai, disagreed with Najibullah's policy of National Reconciliation with the mujahideen and was in favor of turning Kabul'sScud Launchers at Islamabad. He had also become convinced that his Khalq faction was losing its share of power in favour of Najibullah's Parcham. For these reasons he entered in secret negotiations withGulbuddin Hekmatyar, and plotted against Najibullah. Launched on 6 March 1990, hiscoup failed, despite almost killing Najibullah, and Tanai was forced to flee to Pakistan, where he joined Hekmatyar. A severe repression followed, as Najibullah ordered the army to be purged of Tanai's supporters. In the ensuing fighting, several airports were bombarded, damaging 46 military aircraft.[36] This episode reinforced Najibullah's suspicions and led him to govern through his personal allies rather than the government apparatus, further deepening the rift between Khalqis and Parchamis.
By 1992, Afghanistan was in dire straits. Reserves ofnatural gas, Afghanistan's only export, had dried out since 1989, rendering the country completely dependent on Soviet aid. This amounted to 230,000 tons of food per year, but by 1991, the Soviet economy was itself faltering, preventing the Soviets from fulfilling their commitments.
In August 1991, following hisarrival in power,Boris Yeltsin announced that all direct assistance to Najibullah's regime would be curtailed. In January 1992, theAfghan Air Force, which had proved vital to the survival of the regime, could no longer fly any aircraft for lack of fuel. The army was debilitated by food shortages, causing the desertion rate to rise by 60 percent between 1990 and 1991.[36]
The pro-government militias that had grown to replace the army in many of its assignments, were faithful to the regime only so long as it could deliver enough weapons to enable them to conserve their power. With the end of the Soviet aid, the government could no longer satisfy these demands, and the loyalty of the militias began to waver.
Finally, after negotiations between communist GeneralAbdul Rashid Dostum andAhmad Shah Massoud, the Junbish militia defected to the mujahideen. This reversal of fortunes effectively turned the tables in favor of the resistance, and forced Najibullah to resign.[37]
TheSoviet Union having dissolved in late 1991 andRussia having decided to end fuel shipments to Afghanistan, by 1992 the Afghan regime of PresidentMohammad Najibullah began to collapse.[38]
On 18 March 1992, Najibullah announced his willingness to resign in order to make way for a neutral interim government. This step made him lose internal control; his government broke into several factions.[37]GeneralAbdul Rashid Dostum of theAfghan National Army defected the next day, allied withHezb-i Wahdat andJamiat-e Islami mujahideen forces, and took control ofMazar-i-Sharif.[39]
At some point, the UN and senior leaders of several Afghan mujahideen parties decided to meet inPeshawar, Pakistan, to try to form a new national Afghan coalition government.[40]Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, another mujahideen[39] warlord in Afghanistan, supported by the United States and Pakistan during theSoviet–Afghan War (1979–89) and presumably hired by Pakistan'sISI to conquer Afghanistan (see sectionParticipants civil war 1989–92), soon opposed to such an endeavour,[41] planning to capture Kabul alone. In a recorded radio conversation, mujahideen leaderAhmad Shah Massoud invited Hekmatyar to come to the negotiations, but Hekmatyar replied:"We will march into Kabul with our naked sword. No one can stop us. ... Why should we meet the leaders?"[42][43]
On 10 April 1992, the UN presented a plan to the mujahideen parties—of which they approved—to form a pre-interim council on 15 April to accept formal sovereignty from PresidentMohammad Najibullah.[39] The plan was for the UN to fly that pre-interim council of community and tribal leaders into Kabul on 15 April and then fly Najibullah out of Kabul and out of Afghanistan.[39] Throughout the process, mujahideen forces would remain outside Kabul.[39]
But on 14 April,Ahmad Shah Massoud with hisJamiat-e Islami forces had conquered parts ofParwan Province just north of Kabul and had approximately 20,000 troops stationed around Kabul.[38]By mid-April, Massoud's forces (Jamiat)[39][37] along with forces ofAbdul Rashid Dostum (Junbish-e Melli-ye Islami),[39]Harakat,[44] and someIsmaili troops led bySayyid Mansor[44] took control ofBagram airbase, 70 km north of Kabul.[39][44]
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar with hisHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin troops moved up to the southern limits of Kabul.[39] Defecting government forces chose sides with those three mujahideen parties:Jamiat-e Islami,Junbish-e Melli-ye Islami andHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, offering them their support in case they'd decide to enter Kabul.[39]
On 15 April 1992, PresidentMohammad Najibullah was ready to fulfill his role in the plan of 10 April (see above), but the mujahideen parties weren't any longer: some of them now objected against that 10 April agreement.[39] The UN on 15 April did not, as scheduled, fly a pre-interim council into Kabul; apparently, negotiations in Pakistan over such a council were still dragging.[39]
On 16 April, Najibullah was toppled by a coalition of four ethnicTajik generals, who invited mujahideen leaderAhmad Shah Massoud to enter Kabul to become the new head of state right away, a proposal which Massoud declined.[45][46] One of the putschists, Deputy Defense MinisterMohammad Nabi Azimi, appeared onAfghanistan National Television, saying: "I assure my countrymen that we will have peace in the very near future. There is no need for war anymore".[46][37] By 17 April 1992, troops ofAbdul Rashid Dostum controlledKabul International Airport.[37]Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on 17 April had moved close to Kabul and threatened to attack the city "if the present administration fails to transfer power to the mujahideen".[46] Not much later,Pashtun government officials and generals from theKhalq faction including GeneralAslam Watanjar and GeneralMohammed Rafi started to allow Hekmatyar'sHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin forces into Kabul.[39][47]
By 24 April 1992,Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader ofHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, seemed on the verge of taking control of Kabul, which promptedAhmad Shah Massoud's andAbdul Rashid Dostum's forces to also enter the town, to prevent the establishment of a Hekmatyar dictatorship.[39][48]
On 25 April, Hekmatyar with Khalqi allies attempted to overtake Kabul.[49] But Massoud's and Dostum's forces were stronger and forced Hekmatyar with hard fighting out of Kabul by 27 April.[49][38] Hastily now, the mujahideen parties discussing inPeshawar (Pakistan) -- which did not includeHekmatyar'sHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin—agreed[49] on theirPeshawar Accords which they announced on 26 April,[39] proclaiming a leadership council assuring residual powers for the party leaders under an interim PresidentSibghatullah Mojaddedi or Mujaddidi (a religious leader) serving from 28 April to 28 June 1992.[49]Jamiat's leaderBurhanuddin Rabbani would then succeed him as interim President until 28 October, and also in 1992 a nationalshura was to ratify a provisional constitution[49] and choose an interim government for eighteen months, followed by elections.[39] In these Peshawar Accords, Ahmad Shah Massoud was appointed as interim minister of defense for the Mujaddidi government.[39]
By 27 April 1992, Hekmatyar'sHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin forces had been pushed south outside Kabul, but new mujahideen groups entered Kabul (Ittehad-e Islami,Hezb-i Wahdat,Harakat), rivallingJamiat andJunbish, all dividing among them the city which was still largely undamaged.[39] The interim Mujaddidi government was paralyzed right from the beginning which was 28 April 1992, due to rivalling groups contending for total power over Kabul and Afghanistan.[49]
The rest of April, and May–June 1992, civil war flared up over the control of Kabul, between at least five armies, most of them mujahideen (Islamic resistance parties), most of them sponsored by foreign states or intelligence agency:Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin,Jamiat-e Islami,Junbish-i Milli,Ittehad-e Islami andHezb-i Wahdat. By the end of 1992, thousands had been killed, half a million residents had fled Kabul, the town badly damaged. Groups would form alliances and break them, peace accords were attempted and failed. War expanded over all Afghanistan. In November 1994, a new Islamic-inspired group and army, theTaliban, entered the scene. They gradually gained the upper hand, and in September 1996 conquered Kabul. The only group that was left to oppose the Taliban, was Jamiat-e Islami, who was involved in a conflict with the Taliban between1996–2001. They defended from the north-east of the country and the Taliban were never able to control all of Afghanistan until their re-etablishment in 2021.
The Taliban ruled most of Afghanistan until October 2001 when they were dethroned by a coalition of the United States of America with theNorthern Alliance consisting ofJamiat-e Islami,Shura-e Nazar,Junbish-i Milli, theEastern Shura,Harakat-e Islami andHezb-e Wahdat. The UN and US fostered a new government led byHamid Karzai, who was succeeded in 2014 byAshraf Ghani. Nevertheless, by August 2021 the Taliban had retaken control of Afghanistan again and re-established their Islamic Emirate.
His commitment to jihad – to an Islamic revolution transcending national boundaries, was such that he dreamed one day the "green Islamic flag" would flutter not just over Pakistan and Afghanistan, but also over territories represented by the (former Soviet Union) Central Asian republics. After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, as the director-general of the Pakistan's intelligence organisation, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate, an impatient Gul wanted to establish a government of the so-called Mujahideen on Afghan soil. He then ordered an assault using non-state actors on Jalalabad, the first major urban centre across the Khyber Pass from Pakistan, with the aim capturing it and declaring it as the seat of the new administration. This was the spring of 1989 and a furious prime minister, Benazir Bhutto – who was kept in the dark by ... Gul and ... Mirza Aslam Beg – demanded that Gul be removed from the ISI.
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