Khalq

Khalq
خلق
FounderNur Muhammad Taraki
Founded1 January 1965
NewspaperKhalq (1966)
Armed wingSarandoy (de facto)
IdeologyCommunism
Marxism-Leninism
Pashtun nationalism[1]
Pashtun irredentism[2]
Pashtunization[3]
Left-wing nationalism
Factions:
Stalinism[4]
Political positionFar-left
Colors    Red and Gold
Party flag
File:Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Flag (1978-1979) Variant.png

Khalq (Pashto: خلق, lit. 'masses' or 'people') was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Its historical de facto leaders were Nur Muhammad Taraki (1967–1979), Hafizullah Amin (1979) and Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy (1979–1990).[5] It was also the name of the leftist newspaper produced by the same movement. The Khalq wing was formed in 1967 after the split of the party due to bitter resentment with the rival Parcham faction which had a differing revolutionary strategy.

It was made up primarily of Pashtuns from rural backgrounds, especially from the Loya Paktia region of Afghanistan. Its leaders preferred a mass organization approach and advocated class struggle to overthrow the system to bring about political, economic and social changes.[6] They would rule the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan that was formed as a result of the Saur Revolution in 1978. The Khalqists introduced radical reforms and carried out brutal crackdowns on dissent turning Afghanistan into a police state run by the AGSA (and later KAM). The Khalqist crackdowns encouraged the rebellion of the religious and ethnic minority segments present in the Afghan society, which led more people joining exiled Islamist parties in Pakistan. Khalqist rule would be ended following the Soviet military intervention in December 1979 overthrowing Hafizullah Amin.

  1. ^ "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XII, Afghanistan - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XII, Afghanistan - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  3. ^ Ahady, Anwar-ul-Haq (1995). "The Decline of the Pashtuns in Afghanistan". Asian Survey. 35 (7): 621–634. doi:10.2307/2645419. ISSN 0004-4687. JSTOR 2645419.
  4. ^ "THE SOVIET UNION'S INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN WAS A FIASCO—AS INVASIONS OF AFGHANISTAN ALWAYS ARE". historynet. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017. Comrade Stalin showed us how to build socialism in a backward country.
  5. ^ "Afghanistan".
  6. ^ http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/1322/1/799S.pdf [bare URL PDF]