Domestically, the year is one of quiet administrative and economic progress. The division of powers among the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary laid down in the 1964 constitution, although virtually completed in 1968, entails much detailed work in its precise application to existing institutions. This is especially true in the judicial field, where the structure and functions of the lower courts, previously shaped largely by tradition, are found to need considerable alteration. The changes necessitated in this, as in other branches of the administration, are effected with little friction, due to the popularity of the prime minister and to the steady support which he receives from the king.
In the economic field, the policy of mobilizing local resources to replace by degrees the massive foreign aid furnished by the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. continues in accordance with Afghan determination to avoid undue dependence on external help. The main difficulty lies in the shortage of capital for investment in the private sector; and in spite of the inducements proffered by the government growth is slow.
In foreign affairs, the traditional Afghan desire to preserve complete autonomy regardless of external aid and to maintain friendly relations with other countries remains dominant. India's desire for close relations is shown by a visit from Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and by Indian aid in the restoration of the Bamiyan antiquities. Relations with Pakistan and with its new government after the fall of President Mohammad Ayub Khan are correct rather than cordial because of continued Afghan support for the promotion of Pakhtunistan. This support again becomes vocal when the Pakistan government incorporates the states of Dir, Swat, and Chitral, hitherto domestically autonomous, into the administrative structure of West Pakistan, in accordance, it is claimed, with the wishes of the states' peoples. The resulting resentment in Afghanistan does not last, and the country's policy of friendly neutrality toward both the Communist and non-Communist worlds continues smoothly.
Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin arrives to attend the country's 50th independence day celebrations.
Early June 1969
As Afghanistan does not escape the worldwide spread of radical ideas among the student population, the government finds it necessary to close Kabul University temporarily because of student unrest. Secondary schools in the capital are also shut, but there are no serious disturbances.
29 August - 11 September 1969
Afghanistan holds its second free parliamentary election since the introduction of the constitution in 1964, with candidates standing for the 216 seats of the House of the People and for one-third of the House of Elders. Many conservative local landowners who have shunned the first election campaign for office and win seats. Often they win at the expense of more liberal, national-minded incumbents; the new parliament, thus, is more conservative than the previous one. Since political parties were not legalized in time for the elections, most of the candidates are men of local prominence again chosen for their personal prestige rather than their political views. Turnout is much higher than in 1965, but still only about 50%; except in times of national crisis political life is so highly localized that interest in central institutions remains minimal, although in Kabul and its environs live broadcasts of the proceedings in Parliament, which result in the confirmation (as required by the 1964 constitution) of Prime Minister Nur Ahmad Etemadi and his new cabinet, attract large crowds of listeners.
Babrak Karmal was an Afghan communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Afghanistan, serving in the post of general secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1986.
Mohammad Zahir Shah was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Ruling for 40 years, Zahir Shah was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan since the foundation of the Durrani Empire in the 18th century.
Mohammad Daoud Khan was an Afghan military officer and politician who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 Afghan coup d'état which overthrew the monarchy, served as the first president of Afghanistan from 1973 until his assassination in the Saur Revolution.
The following details notable events from the year 1971 in Afghanistan. The Afghan Islamic Republic, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming part of Central Asia, South Asia, and the Greater Middle East.
The following lists events that happened during 1966 in Afghanistan.
Jamayat-E-Islami, sometimes shortened to Jamiat, is a predominantly Tajik political party and former paramilitary organisation in Afghanistan. It is the oldest and largest functioning political party in Afghanistan, and was originally formed as a student political society at Kabul University. It has a communitarian ideology based on Islamic law. During the Soviet–Afghan War and the following Afghan Civil War against the communist government, Jamiat-e Islami was one of the most powerful of the Afghan mujahideen groups. Burhanuddin Rabbani led the party from 1968 to 2011, and served as President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan from 1992 to 2001, in exile from 1996.
Mohammad Nur Ahmad Etemadi was an Afghan diplomat and politician.
The 1989–1992 Afghan Civil War, also known as the FirstAfghan Civil War, took place between the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of the Soviet–Afghan War on 15 February 1989 until 27 April 1992, ending the day after the proclamation of the Peshawar Accords proclaiming a new interim Afghan government which was supposed to start serving on 28 April 1992.
The following lists events that happened during 1963 in Afghanistan.
The following lists events that happened during 1964 in Afghanistan.
The following lists events that happened during 1965 in Afghanistan.
The following lists events that happened during 1967 in Afghanistan.
The following lists events that happened during 1968 in Afghanistan.
The following lists events that happened during 1970 in Afghanistan.
The following lists events that happened during 1973 in Afghanistan.
The Republic of Afghanistan was the first republic in Afghanistan. It is often called the Daoud Republic, as it was established in July 1973 after General Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan of the Barakzai dynasty alongside senior Barakzai Princes deposed his cousin, King Mohammad Zahir Shah, in a coup d'état. The occcasion for the coup was the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan, that took power from most members of the royal family, in favour of the centralization under Zahir Shah and his offspring under the tenet of democracy. Daoud Khan was known for his autocracy and attempts to modernize the country with help from both the Soviet Union and the United States, among others.
Parliamentary elections were held in Afghanistan between August 29 and September 11 1969. They were the second elections after the introduction of the 1964 constitution, with 2,030 candidates standing for the 216 seats of the House of the People and for one-third of the House of Elders. The single-member plurality electoral system was used.
The 1973 Afghan coup d'état, also called by Afghans as the Coup of 26 Saratan and self-proclaimed as the Revolution of 26 Saratan 1352, was led by Army General and prince Mohammad Daoud Khan against his cousin, King Mohammad Zahir Shah, on 17 July 1973, which resulted in the establishment of the Republic of Afghanistan under a one-party system led by Daoud Khan.
Democracy in Afghanistan has been severely limited and characterized by short, unstable historical periods since the formation of the contemporary state of Afghanistan in the 20th century. Following the rise of power of Ghazi Amanullah Khan in 1919, the first elements of a democratic government in the country began to emerge, with the formation of a constitution and increased civil liberties. Amanullah's political reforms resulted in his overthrow and for much of the rest of the 20th century, until 1964, there was limited democratization in the country. With the establishment of a bicameral national legislature in 1964 by King Zahir Shah, political parties began to form; however, none of these reforms were lasting after Zahir Shah's removal from power in 1973 and the formation of an autocratic Afghanistan republic.
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