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Faiz Ahmad | |
|---|---|
فيض احمد | |
 | |
| Leader of the Afghanistan Liberation Organization | |
| In office 1973 – 12 November 1986 | |
| Preceded by | Party established |
| Leader of the Progressive Youth Organization | |
| In office 1965–1973 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1946 |
| Died | 12 November 1986(1986-11-12) (aged 39–40) |
| Party | ALO (1973–1986) |
| Other political affiliations | Shola-e Javid |
| Spouse | Meena Keshwar Kamal |
| Children | 3 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Revolutionary Group of the Peoples of Afghanistan |
| Battles/wars | 1979 uprisings in AfghanistanSoviet–Afghan War |
| This article is part ofa series on |
| Communism in Afghanistan |
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Faiz Ahmad (Pashto:فیض احمد; 1946 – 12 November 1986) was an Afghan politician who led theAfghanistan Liberation Organization (ALO), aMarxist–Leninist organization established inKabul.
Ahmad was born inKandahar in 1946 to an ethnicPashtun family.[1] He attended primary and secondary schools in Kandahar before moving toKabul to enter Naderia High School, where he became involved in the leftist movement after reading some of the works ofKarl Marx andVladimir Lenin.
Akram Yari, a leader of the Maoist movement in Afghanistan, was Ahmad's teacher in Naderia High School and he deeply influenced Ahmad’s political beliefs.[2] Yari was leader ofProgressive Youth Organization (PYO), a Maoist organization which was formed on 6 October 1965. Later, Ahmad parted ways with PYO and formed the Revolutionary Group of People of Afghanistan.
After graduating from high school, Ahmad entered the Medical Faculty ofKabul University. During these years he would establish the Revolutionary Group of People of Afghanistan which was later namedAfghanistan Liberation Organization (ALO).
On April 27, 1978, military officers loyal to thePDPA launched a "revolution" on the orders ofHafizullah Amin in what would become known as the Saur Revolution. Despite bringing the communistKhalqists into power many smaller socialist groups rejected the Khalqists rule for various reasons including thePashtun hegemony of the new government,[3] mistreatment of ethnic minorities,[4] and theirSoviet Influence. On August 5, 1979, a united front of anti-Khalqist Marxists and moderate Islamists attempted an uprising in southern Kabul. The uprising lasted 5 hours and was brutally crushed by theKhalqist government's MiG aircraft, artillery and tanks.[5][6]
During the onset of theSoviet intervention in Afghanistan, Faiz Ahmad, instrumental in the reorganization of theAfghanistan Liberation Organization, set the slogan "All resources at the service of liberation fronts!" as the interim objective of all "revolutionary struggle". During this time and under Faiz's leadership, the ALO decided to join the Islamist political forces in formingunited fronts against theSoviet Union and thePDPA-Parcham government.
He wroteMash'al-i Rehayi (The Beacon of Emancipation), an ALO political-theoretical publication, where he analyzed the situation and established political and strategic lines for ALO activities.
Ahmad was assassinated along with six other ALO members by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar'sHezb-i-Islami on 12 November 1986 inPeshawar, Pakistan.
Ahmad marriedMeena Keshwar Kamal in 1976.[7] Kamal was assassinated inQuetta, Pakistan on 4 February 1987.[8] Reports vary as to who the assassins were, but are believed to have been agents of the Afghan Intelligence ServiceKHAD, the Afghansecret police.[9][10] In May 2002, two men were hanged in Pakistan after being convicted of Kamal's murder.[11]
