By Aqeel Yousafzai
Najibullah, the former president of Afghanistan, and his brother were brutally killed in a crowded Kabul square on September 27, 1996. For several hours, the bodies of the former president and his brother were being desecrated in front of the people of Kabul, but no one had the guts to speak out against it. Afghanistan was the birthplace of Dr. Najibullah in 1946.
With close ties to Pashtun nationalists, the nationalist and communist philosopher also spent a considerable amount of time in Peshawar. For this reason, on September 27, 1996, when the Taliban killed him and his brother from the UN office, all the major stakeholders, such as Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Latif Afridi, and Afrasiab Khattak, offered his requiem in Spin Jummat at University Road, Peshawar. Quetta and Karachi also experienced similar events. Pakistani nationalists also kept calling him a martyr, just like millions of Afghans did.
Their mother, sister, and a few other family members were residing in a leased home in the Gulberg neighborhood of Peshawar on the day the two brothers were killed, and it was evident how anxious and powerless they were. They, along with others, were unaware that the UN would not be able to carry out its duty of safeguarding its visitors, who willingly abdicated their positions of authority following the Soviet exit under the pretext of the purported international organization. Many more traveled to Gulberg-Peshawar to offer their condolences to Dr. Najibullah’s mother and sister, but fear and powerlessness pervaded the area. After being struck by a bus while crossing Peshawar’s University Road, Najibullah’s mother passed away.
The passing of Dr. Najibullah not only severely scared and demoralized the nationalists, but also cleared the path for the Taliban to seize control of all of Afghanistan, forcing other anti-Taliban organizations to submit as well. Some nations, including the United Nations, are seen as close to Dr. Najibullah, and India, sharply criticized them for their worst failure to safeguard their visitors and maintain peace in Afghanistan. However, as the situation worsened, Pakistan not only offered Dr. Najibullah and his family refuge; when the Taliban started to infiltrate Kabul, Pakistan also asked them to provide security for their embassy, but this request was also turned down, according to Indian author Manmohan Singh’s book.