The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

forces in the country, which had been subjected to unfounded persecution and repressionat the hands of the rotten, despotic regime of Daoud, had overthrown the hated regimewith the help of patriotic soldiers and officers of the Afghan army. According to Qadir,Daoud, along with some of his close allies, was given the opportunity to surrender and facea civil trial, but the former president of Afghanistan and his stooges had put up armedresistance to the representatives of the Revolutionary Command and were killed as theresult of cross fire. Colonel Qadir appealed to the servicemen of the Armed Forces andother power structures who continued to defend the non-existent regime to accept theorders of the Headquarters of the Revolutionary Command to put down their weapons inorder to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. He proclaimed that the Afghan army assumed fullresponsibility for maintaining order in the country. Then he announced the introduction ofa curfew for Kabul and other cities, effective immediately.Following the colonel’s speech, the anchor read a list of instructions to the residentsof the capital intended to help them avoid danger.The radio station broadcasted the speeches of the leaders of the Military Councilevery half hour during that evening.The truth was that the legitimate president of Afghanistan was alive and well, andhe never relented in his determination to tip the balance of the battle in his favor.The plotters’ goal was to sow confusion among Daoud’s supporters so that theywould turn themselves in sooner. At that time, a rumor circulated with the help of the fifthcolumn saying that if the resistance continued, the air force would drop a powerful fivehundred kilogram bomb on the palace. Those in the uprising headquarters understood thatthey needed a swift and decisive victory. They knew that every moment lost would work84