The Army and Politics

About the Book

The Army and Politics was hoped to be of any help to readers and researchers interested in the modern history of Afghanistan. It was hoped to be able to offer a proper historic perspective for a particular era of time. A time during which the country strived to make itself a peaceful place for everyone to live in, but had to come across waves of political setbacks caused by foreign interference. The arrival of The Red Army in 1979 opened a new phase of political challenges for almost every side involved. In particular, the West now had to do something to make sure that the Soviet Communist government of Russia lost sleep over their occupation of Afghanistan. Looking at the bitters events and incidents with deliberation will undoubtedly lead to a better understanding of what actually did happen between 1963 and 1993. With a glance through the index, one would realise that the majority of the matters and topics covered are quite overwhelmingly rich of new and unheard of events and incidents. Army and Politics comprises of the author’s own engraved memoirs and analysis of the military-political incidents and events that occurred during his active membership of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan. Army and Politics talks of the dramatic coming to power and collapses of the republican Afghan governments beginning with the deposition of the former King Zahir Shah in 1973. Army and Politics talks of the capacity and capabilities of the Afghan Army during the Soviet occupation and the struggle that the west-backed Mujahideen forces had to withstand for many years. Army and Politics reminds us of the amount of foreign interference that the Afghan governments had to deal with over the years. Army and Politics gives account of how the Afghan government managed to remain in power following the withdrawal of The Red Army from Afghanistan under the leadership of General Gromov in 1989. Army and Politics explains in detail what caused the former Afghan President Dr Najeebullah to leave his government behind and try to escape before seeking refuge at the United Nations office in Kabul in 1992, and what happened to him a few years after. Renowned political figures such as Ludwig W. Adamec and B. B. C’s Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet who were involved in the Afghan history and politics, have both shown their support for The Army and Politics to be published as a valuable source of information.

About the Author

General Mohammed Nabi Azimi is a renowned highly ranked former 4 Star General of the Army of Afghanistan. General Azimi played a key role in the military-political events of the country, from the early 70s through to early 90s. As a young man, finishing Habibiya high school in Kabul, General Azimi enrolled onto the Afghan Army University. He finished his military studies in 1964 and went onto serving his people and country as a professional military officer. Years after, during the USSR occupation of Afghanistan, General Azimi was promoted to the Afghan deputy defence ministerial as well as the General Commandership of Kabul Garrison Military Base. General Azimi played a central role in defeating the coup of the then Defence Minister General Shahnawaz Tanai, carried out on 6 March 1990. Through the course of his military career, General Azimi was assigned to a number of other significantly critical military operations across the country which he overcame with success and honour. Army and Politics reflects a great deal of General Azimi’s own first hand personal experiences of the events and incidents that took place during his service as a military figure. General Azimi is the author of some other Afghan military-political books as well as a few magnificent novels which are in their Persian version.