backs to the future, 1929–33to pardon traitors or those who committed crimes against the state. The
editorial also claimed the executions had been approved by the ‘ulama’ and
by petitions from tribal elders. In his own official statement, King Nadir
Shah argued their deaths were in response to popular demand: ‘I have been
touched by your patriotism and religious zeal. You want to take revenge
from those who have brought destruction for your nation. I therefore in
accordance with your request hand over to you the twelve traitors.’ 6 Shah
Wali Khan too claimed the executions were carried out on ‘the insistence
of the people and the decision of the general assembly’, even though no
such institution existed at the time. 7
Having executed the leaders of the Kohistan revolt, Nadir Shah still
had to regain control of northern Afghanistan, which was controlled
by the remnants of Habib Allah Kalakani’s forces, basmachi leaders and
local Uzbeks, who had taken advantage of the fall of ’Aman Allah Khan
to resume raids into Soviet territory and to evict thousands of Pushtun
settlers. 8 In April 1929 Fazail Maqsum, a Tajik basmachi, overran parts
of southern Tajikistan and occupied Garm, though he was later soundly
defeated by a Soviet counter-attack. 9 The resumption of basmachi raids
led the Soviet authorities to encourage the formation of Communist cells
inside Afghanistan in order to destabilize the country and eventually
overthrow the monarchy.
Nadir Shah’s defeat of Habib Allah Kalakani was therefore welcomed by
the ussr, and it was the first nation to accord the Musahiban government
diplomatic recognition. Nadir Shah then set out to suppress the basmachis
and reassert central authority over the wilayat of Balkh. Ibrahim Beg,
a Laqai Uzbek basmachi commander from Ferghana, was of particular
concern for he commanded a well-trained militia and had given shelter to
Habib Allah Kalakani’s commanders after the fall of Kabul. Initially Nadir
Shah was unable to do much about the situation since his forces were
occupied with mopping up operations in the Koh Daman and southern
Afghanistan. In preparation for a campaign beyond the Hindu Kush, he
ordered urgent repairs to the road between Bamiyan and Doshi and wrote
to Ibrahim Beg ordering him to surrender. His letter, however, was ignored.
King Nadir Shah and the suppression of the Basmachi MovementIn the spring of 1930 Ibrahim Beg resumed attacks across the Amu Darya. 10
The Soviet authorities eventually lost patience and sent a motorized divi-
sion of three hundred troops across the Amu Darya, which overran and
destroyed the basmachi bases of Aq Tepa and ‘Aliabad, but Ibrahim Beg