1973 Afghan coup d'état

1973 Afghan coup d'état

Date 17 July 1973

Location Kabul, Afghanistan
Result Coup attempt
succeeds virtually
bloodless.

King Mohammed
Zahir Shah
overthrown,
monarchy abolished.
Republic proclaimed.
Mohammed Daoud
Khan installed as
President.

Casualties and losses

8 officers

The 1973 Afghan coup d'etat was the somewhat bloodless overthrow of King Mohammed Zahir Shah
by the then-army commander Lieutenant General Mohammed Daoud Khan on 17 July 1973. In Kabul,
Afghanistan, forces led by Daoud Khan and then-Chief of Staff General Abdul Karim Mustaghni
overthrew the monarchy while the King was abroad receiving eye surgery and treatment for low back
pain in Ischia, Italy. Daoud Khan was assisted by leftist Afghan Army officers and civil servants from the
Parcham faction of the PDPA, including Afghan Air Force colonel Abdul Qadir. Eight officers were
killed. King Zahir Shah decided not to retaliate and he formally abdicated on August 24, remaining in
Italy in exile. More than two centuries of royal rule (since the founding of the Durrani Empire in 1747)
ended.[1]

Contents
Background
Aftermath
See also
References
Background
The King had ruled since 1933, and his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan had served as Afghan Prime
Minister from 1953 to 1963. Daoud Khan had strained relations with the King[2] and he was also unable
to hold political office after the 1964 constitution, which barred members of the royal family.[3] Some
believe the King did this on purpose because of Daoud Khan's strong pro-Pashtunistan views, which he
deemed too radical. Daoud Khan took the opportunity during growing discontent from the public over
the failure of reforms by five successive governments since a parliamentary monarchy was formed in
1964, as well as the poor response to the famine in 1971-72 that is believed to have killed thousands in
the central and north-western parts of the country, particularly Ghor Province.[4]

Aftermath
Despite being part of the royal family, Daoud Khan abolished the kingdom and created a new Republic
instead, declaring himself as head of state, prime minister, foreign minister and head of the army. The
royal Arg (palace) in Kabul became the official Presidential residence.[5] In a radio addressing, he called
the coup a "national and progressive revolution", calling the King's rule “corrupt and effete” and vowed
to replace it with “genuine democracy”. He pledged to continue Afghanistan's long-standing policy of
neutrality.[6]

The coup was apparently popular among the population, who viewed Daoud Khan as a forceful leader.[7]
Daoud Khan's links to Marxism, and the Parchamite support in his military coup's, led to some
suspecting it as being a communist takeover. In order to prevent opposition, he assured continuity of
religious and cultural heritage, as demonstrated in the Republican Decrees created in July 1973.[8]

Upon coming to power, Daoud Khan disbanded the parliament and the judiciary, with direct executive
rule established. A loya jirga in January 1977 approved a new constitution creating a presidential one-
party state, with strong powers to the head of state.[9] During his time as head of state, Daoud Khan's
relations with the Soviet Union, Pakistan, and the communists, deteriorated for several social and
economic reasons. Eventually he was overthrown and killed during the Saur Revolution in 1978.

See also
Saur Revolution

References
1. "Afghanistan - Daoud's Republic, July 1973 - April 1978" (http://countrystudies.us/afghanista
n/28.htm). countrystudies.us. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
2. Edwards, David (2 April 2002). Before Taliban: Genealogies of the Afghan Jihad (https://boo
ks.google.com/?id=biOdjgEO-IcC&pg=PA30&dq=saur+revolution#v=snippet&q=daud%20z
ahir&f=false). University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520228610.
3. Dil, Shaheen F (June 1977). "The Cabal in Kabul: Great-Power Interaction in Afghanistan".
American Political Science Review. 71 (2): 468–476. doi:10.1017/S0003055400267397 (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0003055400267397).
4. https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/old-site-downloads/download-416-
Afghanistan-A-Nation-of-Minorities.pdf
 5. Barfield, Thomas (March 25, 2012). Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History (Princeton
Studies in Muslim Politics) (https://books.google.com/?id=fqRFCkpTdUcC&printsec=frontco
ver&dq=history+of+afghanistan#v=onepage&q=Zahir%20Shah%20Italy&f=false). Princeton
University Press. ISBN 978-0691154411.
6. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/18/archives/afghan-king-overthrown-a-republic-is-
proclaimed-afghanistan-king-is.html
7. http://countrystudies.us/afghanistan/88.htm
8. Kamali, Mohammad Hashim (January 1985). Law in Afghanistan: A Study of the
Constitutions, Matrimonial Law and the Judiciary (https://books.google.com/?id=ksC-BL2Wi
vUC&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=republican+coup+1973+afghanistan#v=onepage&q=republi
can%20coup%201973%20afghanistan&f=false). ISBN 9004071288.
9. Kamali, Mohammad Hashim (January 1985). Law in Afghanistan: A Study of the
Constitutions, Matrimonial Law and the Judiciary (https://books.google.com/?id=ksC-BL2Wi
vUC&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=republican+coup+1973+afghanistan#v=onepage&q=republi
can%20coup%201973%20afghanistan&f=false). ISBN 9004071288.

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