afghanistanfuel to Afghanistan, so when Iran subsequently agreed to sell Afghanistan
millions of barrels of fuel oil at a price nearly half that charged by the
ussr, the Kremlin was deeply displeased, especially as its own economy
was stagnating. To add to the problems, a hike in the international spot
price of gas meant Moscow had to increase the amount it paid Afghanistan
for the supply of natural gas from the Jarquduq field in Shibarghan. Yet
another source of tension was the Kabul Municipality’s decision to level
the building designed to house the Soviet Cultural Centre.
When Nikolai Podgorny, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme
Soviet, paid a state visit to Kabul in December 1975, behind the scenes the
strain in Afghan-Soviet relations was palpable. The two parties renewed
the 1931 Soviet-Afghan Neutrality and Non-Aggression Treaty, but the
Soviet delegation made it very clear that, according to their interpretation
of the treaty, Afghanistan’s northern provinces were still regarded as within
their sphere of interest. When Deputy Premier Hasan Sharq informed
the Soviet officials that Afghanistan was planning to use the waters of the
Amu Darya and Kokcha rivers for additional irrigation, he was pointedly
told to ‘forget it. The Oxus waters are all being distributed in Uzbekistan
and Turkmenistan... there are no waters left now for new distribution.’ 23
Da’ud’s attempt to reduce the power of the pdpa was reflected in the
new Constitution, which was published in January 1977, after nearly four
years of drafting. Since there was no Parliament, Da’ud convened a Loya
Jirga, packed with his loyalists, which voted the Constitution into law
almost unanimously. A rambling Preamble to the text, which purported
to speak on behalf of ‘we, the people of Afghanistan’, grandiosely declared
the aim of the Constitution was to allow the Afghan people to fulfil their
‘historic and human mission with trust in Almighty God and adhering
to the basic principles of the sacred religion of Islam’. 24 However, the
Constitution contained only a single reference to Islamic law and that was
only to permit the judiciary to refer to the Hanafi legal code as a last resort,
the Constitution, civil law and Presidential Decrees all being given prece-
dence. A subsequent Civil and Criminal Code also deviated significantly
from the penal provisions of the Hanafi legal code.
The Preamble included a statement that ‘national life’ was to be
founded on ‘Liberty, Truth, Justice and Peace based on the principles of
Brotherhood and Equality’, while the Fundamental Objectives included a
pledge ‘to secure democracy’, eliminate exploitation ‘in all its forms and
manifestations’ and ‘respect’ the un Charter and the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. However, these resounding declarations were but a velvet
glove that concealed an iron fist. One of the Constitution’s stated aims was