PRESIDENT MOHAMMAD NAJIBULLAH
FEW HEADS OF STATE FELL FROM POWER AS WRETCHEDLY AS THIS POLITICIAN
1947-96 AFGHANISTAN
Installed by the Soviets in 1986 after the dismal leadership of President Babrak Karmal, President Najibullah struggled to compromise with the mujahideen, who by that time were openly allied with the United States. A doctor by profession, Najibullah’s steady rise within the Afghan Communist party – also known as the PDPA – and his own credentials as a devoted socialist made him a convenient choice as a proxy who could be kept in power by Soviet military might.
But within a handful of years Najibullah and his crumbling government were left to fend for themselves. By 1992 the mujahideen had encircled Kabul and there was no longer an Afghan armed forces, much less a functioning government, worthy of the name. Neither did the fledgling Russian Federation, aimless and bankrupt, attempt to intervene on behalf of a former ally. Separated from his family and run out of office, Najibullah found safety by hiding in a United Nations compound.
No other Afghan leader met a worse fate than him. In 1996 the Taliban dragged him out into the street and tortured him to death. His body was then strung up and displayed to the public.
“NO OTHER AFGHAN LEADER MET A WORSE FATE THAN HIM”