Relations between different bureaucratic agencies
In the Soviet model, the Communist Party played an overarching
role, and while bureaucratic politics certainly existed, both within
and between agencies of the state, the penetration of state hier-
archies by the party – overseeing but not actually undertaking state
activities – served to keep conflicts under control. The factionalism
in the Afghan party meant that it could not discharge this important
function effectively, and as a result, the agencies of the state tend-
ed to become factional bailiwicks and cooperated poorly if at all.
The most important and troubling of these relationships was that
between KhAD and the Interior Ministry (Sarandoy). KhAD,
which is discussed in more detail in the next part of this chapter,
was headed by Dr Najibullah, a Parchami; the Sarandoy, on the
other hand, was headed by Sayid Muhammad Gulabzoi, a Khalqi.
KhAD managed to establish a presence in both the military and
Sarandoy(Halliday and Tanin, 1998: 18), but tensions between
KhAD and Sarandoypersisted. This problem was aggravated by
the increasing tension between different Soviet agencies (Rubin,
1995a: 125–6), especially following the death of Leonid Brezhnev
in November 1982 and the accession to the General Secretaryship
of former KGB Chief Iurii Andropov, who moved rapidly to settle
scores with a number of his old enemies, notably Brezhnev’s long-
time Interior Minister and associate Nikolai Shchelokov, who was
dismissed from office in 1983 and committed suicide in December
- In the Afghan case, it appeared to be the responsibility of the
‘Revolutionary Council’ to ease interagency tensions, but in prac-
tice it lacked the authority to do so.
The failed legitimation strategies of the Karmal regime
The Karmal phase of the Soviet–Afghan War was marked by a num-
ber of attempts by the regime to explore new means by which it
might seek to legitimate its rule (Maley, 1987a). Building a ‘com-
munist’ society was not part of this rhetorical strategy; the
Fundamental Principles of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan,
issued in Kabul in April 1980 by the Publication Department of the
The Karmal Period, 1979–1986 95