Trevor Sproule

Block 3

The Shah Conflict

Mohammad Zaher Shah

• Zaher was born Oct. 15, 1914, in Kabul, Afg.

• He died July 23, 2007, Kabul

• Zaher was the king of Afg. From 1933-1973

• Was know for the stable Government he provided in his reign as king of

Afg.

• At the age of 19 Zaher took the throne of Afg. after his fathers

assassination in November of 1933

• (Britannia Encyclopedia)

• Zaher worked in the shadows and allowed his

relatives to control the Gov. until he made a

constitution in 1964 banning relatives from all

political offices and established a

constitutional monarchy

• Around this time the country had stabilized to

an extent and he used his remaining years to

advance his country economy

• (Britannica Encyclopedia)

• For the remainder of his years as the king of

Afg. Zaher undertook multiple economic

development projects to help better his

country

• Irrigation, road contraction and highway

construction programs where undertook

widely. The funding was mostly foreign aid

despite this Zaher maintained Afg. neutrality

• (Britannica Encyclopedia)

Prince Daoud

• Prince Daoud was born on July 18th, 1909 and died April 28th, 1978

• He preformed a bloodless coup in 1973 were he seized control of the

government

• Created the republic of Afg. and became the first president

• (Khaana Press)

Background of Prince Daoud

• “Daud was known for his progressive policies, especially in relation to the

rights of women, for initiating two five-year modernization plans” (Khaana

Press)

• Was assassinated in 1978 in the Saur Revolution which was led by the

Communist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan or PDPA

• (Khaana Press)

Background continued

Connections and Backing

• Prince Daoud received his funding for his revolt from the Soviet Union

• Directly after the coup to the point of his death he was

arming the Afg. armies with advanced Soviet weapons to

account for the massive weapon build up in both Pakistan

and Iran (Khaana Press)

• He continued to receive funding until the Saur Revolution

were the Soviet Union attempted to take control of Afg.

Connections

• The government that Prince Daoud had made was backed by the Loya

Jirga which is a type of assembly to make decisions. This type of backing

allowed Prince Daoud to pay his respects to his connections in the Soviet

Union by offering them seats to participate in his government. While still

being able to run his country in his and his peoples views.

Backing

People of Afghanistan

• The impact of the Shah conflict for many Afghanis marked the end of peace in

the country. The country has not seen sustained peace sense the rule of Zaher.

• A split in the people also occurred their were many individual parties who had

all been able to get along under king Zaher but used the opportunity of the

new government to spring forward. The most easily recognizable are the

Communist and the body of the Afghani people which held most power in the

Loya Jirga a type self govern party, which sought to stay independent of other

nations (global security)

Impact

• The communist party in the Afg. government were all funded and

supported by the Soviet Union

• Their goal was to create a government and economy relying on the Soviet

Union for stability. They also wanted the government of Afg. to be a

Soviet asset to help them have more control over international trade.

Leadership Communist party

• This party in the Afg. government sought to rid the country of most

external influence and to stay either a type of democratic republic or return

to the heir of Shah’s

• This party made up most of the Afg. population and include the president

Prince Daoud

Leadership Self Govern Party

• "Military." Afghanistan: History Of 1973 Coup Sheds Light On Relations

With Pakistan. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

• "Mohammad Daud Khan." Khaama Press KP Afghan Online Newspaper

RSS. N.p., 01 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

• "Mohammad Zahir Shah (king of Afghanistan)." Encyclopedia Britannica

Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

Work Cited