afghanistandid not even mention General Dostam, nor was the main Shi‘a coalition,
Hizb-i Wahdat, allocated any ministerial positions. Despite pleas by the
Saudis, the isi and even ’Osama bin Laden, Gulbudin Hikmatyar refused
to sign the Accord and demanded as a precondition of participation that
Mas‘ud be excluded from power, all Communists be purged from the army
and administration and that Dostam withdraw beyond the Salang Pass. Yet
despite his refusal to join the government, Hikmatyar was designated as
prime minister while behind the scenes isi officers encouraged Hikmatyar
to take Kabul by storm. Even before the ink was dry on the agreement, the
Peshawar Accord was doomed to failure.
Hikmatyar, supported by thousands of Arab mujahidin, mustered
his forces at Chahar Asiyab for a final push on the capital while Khalqi
sympathizers smuggled Hizb-i Islami fighters into the capital. Mas‘ud
and Dostam, however, got wind of Hikmatyar’s plan and the day after the
Peshawar Accord was signed Dostam airlifted thousands of his militia
into Kabul and took control of northern and central parts of the capital.
Meanwhile Mas‘ud’s Panjshiris rode into the capital astride tanks, where
they were greeted by cheering crowds who threw garlands of flowers
in their path. Three days later Sibghat Allah Mujadidi and other shura
members flew into Kabul, where the interim government was legitimized
by the presence of Pakistan’s new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, isi officials
and Turki al-Faisal, head of Saudi Arabia’s intelligence service. However,
the real power lay with Mas‘ud and Dostam, who attacked Hikmatyar’s
positions a few days later and forced him back to Chahar Asiyab and Sarobi.
The mujahidin government and the breakdown of law and orderOne of Sibghat Allah Mujadidi’s first actions on returning to Kabul was to
inaugurate a programme of Islamization. Afghanistan became the Islamic
State of Afghanistan and all the decrees, laws and Constitutions instituted
since Taraki’s Saur Revolution were abrogated, while the judiciary were
ordered to base all their judgements solely on Hanafi jurisprudence. A
special religious court, with the power of life and death, was set up to
root out all vestiges of Communism, enforce religious observance, and
punish irreligious and anti-Islamic acts. Strict censorship was imposed,
cinemas closed and the segregation of the sexes and veiling of women
became compulsory. Overnight female presenters disappeared from tv and
radio, and women teachers and civil servants were sacked. The Minister of
Culture instituted a purge of ‘godless’ and ‘anti-Islamic’ publications from
public libraries, schools and colleges. Later, the Supreme Court issued