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Afghan diary
A chronology of governments that have ruled Afghanistan since the monarch was overthrown in 1973.
A chronology of governments that have ruled Afghanistan since the monarch was overthrown in 1973.
July 17, 1973: Mohammed Daoud deposes his cousin, King Zahir Shah, who went to Italy, where he still lives in exile. Daoud later establishes a republic, abrogates the constitution and dissolves parliament.
April 27, 1978: The Communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan seizes power in a coup and kills Daoud and his brother. Nur Mohammed Taraki is declared president.
April 1, 1979: Hafizullah Amin, who led a rival Communist Party faction, is named Premier. Sept. 16, 1979: Hafizullah Amin declares himself president and announces Taraki is no longer president.
Dec. 27, 1979: Babrak Karmal assumes the presidency in a violent coup that results in Amin's death.
Dec. 28, 1979: Former Soviet Union sends thousands of troops to Afghanistan and US President Jimmy Carter calls the invasion a grave threat to peace.
May 4, 1986: Najibullah becomes president of Afghanistan and Karmal resigns, apparently for health reasons. He later goes into exile in Moscow. Feb. 15, 1989: Former Soviet Union withdraws its troops from Afghanistan according to the terms of a UN-brokered accord.
April 1992: Najibullah steps down and the Islamic Mujahideen government is formed, led for two months by Sibgatullah Mojaddidi and for the remaining four years by Burhanuddin Rabbani. Bitter factional fighting marks their rule.
Sept. 26, 1996: Hardline Islamic Taliban movement takes control in Kabul, tortures and hangs Najibullah and his brother, who had been living for four years under UN protection in a UN compound in Kabul.
Nov. 13, 2001: Taliban flee Kabul after relentless bombing by US and British jets collapse their frontlines and allow the Northern Alliance to take control. Dec. 22, 2001: Interim government headed by Hamid Karzai is sworn-in.
Bureau Report
April 27, 1978: The Communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan seizes power in a coup and kills Daoud and his brother. Nur Mohammed Taraki is declared president.
April 1, 1979: Hafizullah Amin, who led a rival Communist Party faction, is named Premier. Sept. 16, 1979: Hafizullah Amin declares himself president and announces Taraki is no longer president.
Dec. 27, 1979: Babrak Karmal assumes the presidency in a violent coup that results in Amin's death.
Dec. 28, 1979: Former Soviet Union sends thousands of troops to Afghanistan and US President Jimmy Carter calls the invasion a grave threat to peace.
May 4, 1986: Najibullah becomes president of Afghanistan and Karmal resigns, apparently for health reasons. He later goes into exile in Moscow. Feb. 15, 1989: Former Soviet Union withdraws its troops from Afghanistan according to the terms of a UN-brokered accord.
April 1992: Najibullah steps down and the Islamic Mujahideen government is formed, led for two months by Sibgatullah Mojaddidi and for the remaining four years by Burhanuddin Rabbani. Bitter factional fighting marks their rule.
Sept. 26, 1996: Hardline Islamic Taliban movement takes control in Kabul, tortures and hangs Najibullah and his brother, who had been living for four years under UN protection in a UN compound in Kabul.
Nov. 13, 2001: Taliban flee Kabul after relentless bombing by US and British jets collapse their frontlines and allow the Northern Alliance to take control. Dec. 22, 2001: Interim government headed by Hamid Karzai is sworn-in.
Bureau Report