Afghanistan was ruled by king Nadir till 1931 when he
adopted a new constitution and began a program of reforms. But he was assassinated in
1933, and his son Muhammad Zahir became king.
In 1953,
Muhammad Daoud Khan, became prime minister of Afghanistan. Under him, Afghanistan
remained neutral in the cold war. Due to internal politics he was forced to resign in
1963. in 1964, Afghanistan adopted a constitution with a democratic government. But
King Zahir and the legislature could not agree on a reform programme. and, a democratic
system failed to develop.
In 1973, Daoud led a military
revolt overthrowing King Zahir. and established the Republic of Afghanistan with
himself as president and prime minister. In 1978, rival left-wing military leaders and
civilians staged a revolt in which Daoud was killed. This group, aided by the Soviet
Union, took control of the government and introduced communistic policies. Many people
of Afghanistan opposed the new government, believing that government policies conflicted
with teachings of Islam. Large numbers of people joined in a rebellion against the
government and a widespread fighting broke out between the rebels and government
forces.
In this internal conflict Soviet Union supported
the government with communist leanings and in late 1979 and early 1980, sent thousands
of troops. to Afghanistan to support the government against the fight with rebels.
This resulted in a lengthy conflict between Soviet troops and Afghan rebels. However,
the government failed to achieve a decisive victory In 1988, the Soviet Union began
withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan. completing it in February
1989.
But the fighting between the mujaheddin and the
government forces continued until April 1992, when the rebels overthrew the government.
Following the overthrow, several factions of the rebels agreed to set up a transitional
government. However, fighting continued in the country as the different factions
competed for power.
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