a house divided, 1933–73When Prime Minister Yusuf sought the Wolusi Jirga’s approval for his new
cabinet, he faced a barrage of vituperation from pdpa members and their
supporters in the public gallery. Pushtun nationalists also attacked him, for
they resented a non-Pushtun being prime minister. The Wolusi Jirga then
passed a motion requiring all the proposed cabinet ministers to present
themselves for public scrutiny and to declare the sources of their personal
fortunes. Dr Yusuf refused to comply, claiming such matters were personal,
and issued his own ultimatum: confirm his new government within three
days or he would resign.
The pdpa’s response was swift. On the following day, 24 October 1965,
Party members stormed the Chamber, refused to leave, and forced the
suspension of proceedings. The following morning, the 3 ‘Aqrab in the
Afghan solar calendar, the Wolusi Jirga went into private session while
outside security forces fought pdpa supporters who tried to break into
the heavily guarded building. When they failed to achieve this aim, the
demonstrators broke into the nearby Habibiyya High School and tried to
force the pupils to join their demonstration. A second group attempted to
storm Dr Yusuf ’s private residence but were driven back by the guards. By
the end of the day two protestors had been shot, along with a tailor who
had been caught in the crossfire. 44 The following day Dr Yusuf submitted
his resignation.
The new prime minister, Muhammad Hashim Maiwandwal, was an
Ahmadzai Ghilzai and a well-known religious personality, journalist and
diplomat who had previously served as Minister of Information under
Hashim Khan. Maiwandwal, though, was an old-style monarchist and
reformer in the Mahmud Tarzi mould who was deeply concerned about
the increasing influence of the Soviet Union and Communism among
the younger generation, which he blamed on Da’ud’s decision to accept
the Soviet loan and military and developmental aid. As far as Moscow
and Afghanistan’s Communists were concerned, Maiwandwal was an
American puppet.
Like Yusuf before him, Maiwandwal had to endure several days of
personalized attacks before the Wolusi Jirga passed a Motion of Confidence
in his administration. In an attempt to calm the situation, Maiwandwal
promised to set up a commission of enquiry to examine the students’
demands and he attended the fatiha prayer service for the ‘martyred’
students, where he read a message of condolence from King Zahir Shah.
At the same time, Maiwandwal ordered the closure of all schools and Kabul
University for a week in order to prevent further protests and arrested
leading left-wing agitators. Despite these actions protests resumed when