My father always said politics is not a science, it is an art, and just as you need to understand how to draw to be an artist, you need to understand people to be a good leader. It pained him to see Hashim ruling the country like a despot, filling the provincial assemblies and national Parliament with loyal friends and suppressing all opposition.
It also pained Baba to see Hashim promoting the rash Daoud, who, although he cared passionately about Afghanistan, was too blinded by his dictatorial nature to see what was good for the people. When my father tutored the young Daoud in Paris, he had tried to teach him that to gain respect, you must give respect, but Daoud never listened. Behind his back people called Daoud the “Crazy Prince.”
When Hashim appointed the twenty-six-year-old Daoud governor of Kandahar, Daoud ruled so harshly that the people of Kandahar revolted and Zahir Shah was forced to travel to Kandahar himself to bring the city under control. Hashim tried to dissuade the king from going. “You will be risking your life if you go to Kandahar,” he said. When Zahir Shah arrived at the airport in Kandahar, Hashim’s men tried to direct him away from the terminal, where hundreds of protestors had gathered, and lead him to a tent where Hashim’s handpicked tribal leaders awaited. Zahir Shah waved Hashim’s men away. He entered the terminal and made his way to the center of the excited crowd. “I have come to listen,” he said. “I have come to hear about any misunderstanding between you and the governor.” The crowd began shouting, “Zahir Shah! Zahir Shah!” Men in gebis dusted gray from miles of traveling on horseback and camel hugged the king, turning his dark blue suit the color of the desert. The king sat down with the elders, who wanted Daoud replaced, and told them, “Don’t worry, I will take care of this and get you the result you want.”
After the king returned to Kabul, Daoud was replaced as governor. Daoud left Kandahar in disgrace. But Daoud was young—and Hashim was a patient man.
At one of the many government social functions Baba attended, he was speaking to Mohammad, one of the king’s advisors and a powerful leader of the Seloman tribe, Pashtuns from south of Kabul who historically protected the Palace and the king. “Why does a man in a position such as yours not have a wife?’ Mohammad asked.
“I’m too busy,” my father replied. “I have no time for a wife.”
A very powerful and well-connected khan overheard and said to Baba, “I have a daughter, Tajwar, who would make you the perfect wife. She is both beautiful and intelligent.”
“I’ll send my mother to consider your offer,” Baba said out of respect.
Abo was responsible for making sure the girl was an appropriate match and went to visit the family. Tajwar was only twenty-three years old—ten years younger than Baba. She was every bit as beautiful and intelligent as her father had said. My father married her and stayed happily married to her until the day he died. Tajwar, or Babu, as I always called her, had grown up in one of the many mountain villages that dot the valleys from Jalalabad to the Hindu Kush. Although she had never gone to school, her mind was sharp. Baba gave her many books to read, and she learned quickly.
As a new wife, Tajwar needed a house of her own. Her father urged Baba to buy land in Karta-i-Char on the other side of Mount Asmayi to the west of Kabul. Baba was reluctant to leave his old house in downtown Kabul, but he bought six acres—enough land to build a new house for himself and Tajwar as well as houses for Gholam, Sultan, and Ali. That is how family lives in Afghanistan.
Baba’s brothers all attended Nedjat High School, a German language school staffed by Germans that the Germans had built in 1924 to counter the influence of Great Britain. After the brothers graduated, each studied at a German university. Germany also built arms manufacturing plants in Afghanistan. There are two things a ruler of Afghanistan cannot say “nay” to: arms and money. Over the years the German government supplied arms and ammunition to the Afghan government and taught Afghan students and soldiers in Germany. My cousin Abbas was one of them.
At the outbreak of World War II, Zahir Shah was placed in a difficult position. Germany had long been Afghanistan’s main source for aid and development because the king could not accept aid from either Britain or Russia without antagonizing one or the other. Afghanistan also had close relations with Turkey. When Turkey entered the war on the side of Germany, many Afghan military personnel and civilians were living there. Although Afghanistan had been close with Germany and Turkey, the king knew it would be foolish to have the United States, Russia, and Great Britain as enemies. Zahir Shah kept Afghanistan neutral, and ordered his military officers to leave Turkey for Iraq. Many Afghan civilians left as well. The king appointed my father ambassador to Iraq to supervise the distribution of food, shelter, and medical care.
Baba was well suited for the job because he spoke not only French, English, Dari, and Pashto but also Arabic. Babu went with him to help with the refugees and learned to speak English and Arabic.
After the war Hashim resigned, citing poor health. His successor, Mahmud Khan, tried to impose modern economic and social reforms, especially with regard to women, but as usual, all such efforts ended badly. Once again, the government needed foreign support to survive. Because of Afghanistan’s strategic location, both the United States and Russia tried to win Afghanistan’s favor, and Khan played them off against each other.
While Uncle Gholam was living and working in Germany, he married a German woman named Lilo, which upset Baba very much. Like my father, Gholam worked for the Foreign Ministry, and Baba felt Gholam had an obligation to Afghanistan to work there. But once Gholam married Lilo, a non-Afghan, he was forced to leave the Foreign Ministry and accept work as a cultural attaché assisting Afghan students living in Germany. My father believed strongly in the tradition that Afghan men should marry Afghan women, which generally meant relatives, unless it was a political union. Baba never truly forgave Uncle Gholam for marrying Lilo.
In 1953 Shah Mahmud resigned as prime minister. Zahir Shah appointed his cousin Daoud to replace him. Daoud appointed his brother Naim as foreign minister. Naim preferred the social life of embassy functions to the difficult work of the Foreign Ministry, so Daoud appointed my father to be Naim’s deputy. Baba not only took care of the ministry’s business; he recorded each meeting of the ministry in a thick, leather-bound journal, preserving not just the workings of the Foreign Ministry but the history of Afghanistan itself.
Although every ruler before him had failed, Daoud attempted to modernize Afghanistan in the style of the West and improve the lives of Afghan women. He insisted his ministers wear suits and ties. The religious conservatives of the countryside might have tolerated this if Daoud hadn’t also banned women from wearing veils in public. When Islamic leaders protested, Daoud responded:
“Show me a single verse in the Koran requiring that women be veiled.”
When the religious leaders continued to complain, Daoud had them imprisoned.