1973 Afghan coup
| 1973 Afghan coup d'état | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||||
|
|||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 8 officers | |||||||
Coup attempt succeeds virtually bloodless.
The 1973 Afghan coup d'etat took place on July 17, 1973 in Kabul, Afghanistan when forces led by then-army commander Lieutenant General Mohammed Daoud Khan overthrew the monarchy in a somewhat bloodless coup. At the time King Mohammed Zahir Shah was abroad receiving eye surgery and treatment for low back pain in Ischia, Italy. Daoud Khan was assisted by leftist Afghan Army officers and civil servants from the Parcham faction of the PDPA, including Afghan Air Force colonel Abdul Qadir. Eight officers were killed. King Zahir Shah decided not to retaliate and he formally abdicated on August 24, remaining in Italy in exile. More than two centuries of royal rule (since the founding of the Durrani Empire in 1747) ended.
The King had ruled since 1933, and his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan had served as Afghan Prime Minister from 1953 to 1963. Daoud Khan was not a supporter of the King and he was also unable to hold political office after the 1964 constitution, which barred members of the royal family. Some believe the King did this on purpose because of Daoud Khan's strong pro-Pashtunistan views. At the time of the coup, there was growing dissatisfaction from the public and student unrest and resentment among the educated classes against issues such as unemployment, as well as discontent over promotions in the armed forces, and the King's poor response to the famine in 1971-72 that is believed to have killed thousands in the central and north-western parts of the country.
...
Wikipedia