The last communist president of Afghanistan, who outlasted the Soviet withdrawal by three years before the Taliban tortured and hanged him
"I didn't want to be president, you talked me into it, insisted on it, and promised support. Now you are throwing me and the Republic of Afghanistan to its fate." To Shevardnadze, autumn 1991
A Pashtun doctor who joined the PDPA's Parcham faction as a student, Najibullah rose through six brutal years at the helm of KHAD, the Afghan secret police, where his ruthless efficiency drew the attention of Yuri Andropov and the KGB. Installed by Moscow as party leader in 1986, he launched a 'National Reconciliation' that restored Islam, introduced multi-party politics, and erased communist symbols from the constitution, yet the war ground on; he opposed the Soviet withdrawal, pleading with Shevardnadze to leave volunteers to defend the Kabul highway, but after February 1989 held power alone for three more years. When Soviet dissolution ended aid and General Dostum defected, his government collapsed in 1992; he sheltered in the UN compound in Kabul, until Taliban fighters dragged him out in September 1996, tortured and castrated him, and hung his corpse from a traffic pole.
Career Timeline
- 1965Joined PDPA Parcham faction
- 1977PDPA Central Committee member
- 1978Ambassador to Iran, soon dismissed; exile in Eastern Europe
- 1980–1985Director of KHAD (state security)
- 1986–1992PDPA General Secretary
- 1987–1992President of Afghanistan
- 1992–1996Sheltered in UN compound, Kabul
Related historical events
- 1979–1989The Soviet-Afghan WarAfghan president, National Reconciliation policySucceeding Karmal in 1986, he pursued National Reconciliation but repeatedly pressed Moscow to delay the withdrawal and to leave volunteer troops behind. He held on for three more years after the Soviet departure.
- 1985–1989The New Thinking and the End of the Cold WarKey party in the Soviet Afghanistan withdrawal negotiationsAhead of the Soviet withdrawal, he pleaded for a continued military presence to stabilize his regime, while Shevardnadze proposed keeping volunteers to defend the highway to Kabul.