Pashtun Rule 

Nader the Traitor

Nader Khan's ancestors belonged to the Pashtun aristocratic Mohammadzai tribe and had been exiled by the British Indian government to Dehradun in Kashmir in 1879, where Nader was born in 1883. In the last years of Amir Abdoll Rahman's rule, the British sent the family back to Afghanistan. Mohammad Nader joined the military service, enjoyed a stellar career and became a high-ranking general. Under Amanollah, he commanded the Afghan forces in "the Battle of Thal" against the British army (in 1919) and was elevated to Minister of War. But Amanollah later became suspicious of his ambitions, dismissed him as war minister, sent him to Paris as ambassador and then discharged him from government service altogether in 1926. Nader Khan then relocated to Nice where he resided as a private citizen.

During the initial uprisings in 1929, both Habibollah Kalakâni and Amanollah called on him to return to Afghanistan... Nader Khan ignored Habibollah's request and headed back to Afghanistan to assist Amanollah. Amanollah had wanted him to return via Soviet territory but instead, Nader Khan travelled to British India where he met with British officials and began to organise a resistance force in the province of Paktia – ostensibly for Amanollah. He soon managed to raise a substantial army of tribal fighters... but he suddenly delayed his intervention and remained in wait... Amanollah, by then fully demoralised and surrounded by shady characters in Kandahar, abdicated the throne in exasperation and left the country, seeking exile in Italy.

On 16 October 1929, Nader Khan captured Kabul, and Habibollah Kalakâni, was forced to retreat to Kohdâman with his men. Nader Khan promised to grant them amnesty... And, to this end, he wrote his vow on a page of the Qor'an, replete with his signature and seal, and sent it to Habibollah Kalakâni. (In Afghanistan, writing, signing and sealing a pledge in a Qor'an is considered the highest sign of trustworthiness amongst believers.) Habibollah Kalakâni, a simple man from modest circumstances, trusted him and surrendered... He and his men were subsequently taken to Kabul where they were imprisoned and, according to some sources, brutally tortured before being executed. For this act, the non-Pashtuns awarded Nader Khan the title "Ghaddâr": "the Traitor". (He was seen as such on several levels: not only did he break his word and instrumentalise the holy book of Qor'an to betray Habibollah Kalakâni, he had also committed treachery to his king, Amanollah Khan, to whom he had sworn allegiance, by snatching the throne from him).

The Colonialist Interests of the British in Afghanistan

Needless to say, the events and shifts in power in the Afghan state since its inception were all being influenced and manipulated by colonialist empires.

With Abdoll Rahman Khan, the so-called founder of "modern" Afghanistan, and the creation of the Durand Line, the British were able to secure their position in the region significantly. Under Abdoll Rahman Khan's son, Habibollah Khan, their position remained secured.

Related News

News from Nowhere: The French Connection

How MI6 helped HTS seize Syria

But, during the Third Anglo-Afghan War, under Amanollah's rule, the British were to experience a major setback, which they were able to redeem to some extent later on through diplomacy. At that time, Afghanistan began to gain more independence and pursue a more independent foreign policy... one that was primarily concerned with the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, the so-called "Great Game", in which both powers were striving to gain influence in the region.

Apart from the fact that the British saw an overly independent, developed, strong state of Afghanistan as a danger to their colonial system in general (because of the incentives demonstrated by the population and potential emulation elsewhere in Asia and in Africa)... and to their crown colony of India in particular, the British also feared that Amanollah would return from exile and pursue an even stronger anti-British policy in favour of the Axis Powers.

The Soviet Union, on the other hand, was the first state to recognise Afghanistan's independence and to immediately establish diplomatic relations with it; in turn, Afghanistan under Amanollah was the first state to recognise the Soviet Union. Moreover, Amanollah and Lenin wrote each other letters of praise, sent delegations to one another and concluded mutual trade and friendship treaties.

During a visit to London, the British promised Amanollah all their support if he would refrain from visiting the Soviet Union. Amanollah rejected the offer and visited the Soviet Union on his way back to Afghanistan. He received a royal reception in Moscow.

Years later, while Amanollah was in Kandahar organising a resistance force against Habibollah Kalakâni, his loyal general Mohammad Seddiq Khan Charkhi met with the Soviets in Moscow, who provided him and his troops with a contingent of Red Army soldiers. Seddiq Khan Charkhi crossed the border (at Âmu-Daryâ) and marched in from the north and headed for Kabul. But it was then that news came that Amanollah had left the country because the planned attack by Nader Khan against Habibollah Kalakâni had failed to materialise. Seddiq Khan Charkhi had to retreat, and the Red Army troops returned to the Soviet Union. 

The first phase of the British agenda for a regime change of Amanollah's rule entailed fomenting sedition in the state... then overthrowing it – through Habibollah Kalakâni's uprising.

Once the state collapsed and Amanollah's regime was removed, all British aid and support to the insurgents terminated... and the second phase of regime change commenced: provisions and assistance were diverted to Nader Khan, the real favourite of the British.

Even the Soviets ultimately preferred to see a Nader Khan in power than an Amanollah under German and Italian influence. (Afghanistan under Amanollah would have become an ally of the Axis powers.)

British regime change was successful, and Nader Khan later declared Afghanistan's neutrality at the outbreak of World War II, even though some sections of the population still sympathised with the Germans.

After usurping power, Nader Khan and his brothers installed a new regime of terror and set about purging the country of Amanollah supporters and advancing Pashtunisation. This period of history up to the overthrow of the Mohammadzayi clan rule by the bloody coup of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan in 1978 will be dealt with in upcoming essays.

*   *   *