1999
Babrak Karmal’s GRU dossier
Babrak Karmal was born in 1929 in the small town of Kamari near Kabul. He is a Pushtun and comes from a military family. His father is General-Colonel Mukhammed Husein, a Pushtun from the Mollakhel tribe; during the monarchy he was commander of the Paktia Corps and Governor-General of Paktia, and [then] headed the Financial Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. He retired before the 1973 coup, but during Daud's rule he returned to service and commanded the 17th Infantry Division and was Governor of Herat. In 1976 he finally left the army. Karmal's mother is a Tajik.
In connection with the frequent travels of his father he was raised in the mixed Tajik-Pushtun family of Doctor Keramuddin Kakar, where he met the wife of the latter, Anahita Rotebzad, who became an eminent figure of the PDPA.
In 1952 B. Karmal graduated the Law School of Kabul University. In 1953 he was arrested for organizing student demonstrations and was in prison for about three years. He served in the army in 1957-1959. From 1960 to 1964 he worked in the Ministry of Education and Planning. He was elected a deputy to Parliament under Prime Ministers Ettamadi, Zahir, and Musa Shafik.
He was one of the founders of the PDPA. In 1967, after the split in the PDPA, he headed the “Parcham” faction. After the Party reunited in June 1977 he was the Deputy General Secretary of the CC PDPA. In April 1978 (after the military coup) he became Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Council and Prime Minister of the DRA. In May 1978 he was sent to Czechoslovakia as the DRA ambassador. In August, under pressure from H. Amin, he was removed from all of his posts. Fearing reprisal, he did not return to Afghanistan and stayed to live in the USSR.
He is a skilled orator, emotional, and inclined to abstraction to the detriment of a specific analysis. He has a poor grasp of economic issues which interest him at a general level.
He knows Dari and Pashto, but most often uses Dari.
He is fluent in English and knows some German.
He is married and has four children. His younger half-brother by his father is Mahmud Baryalai.
[Source: A. A. Lyakhovskiy's “Plamya Afgana” (“Flame of the Afghanistan veteran”)”, Iskon, Moscow, 1999; Translated for CWIHP by Gary Goldberg]
In connection with the frequent travels of his father he was raised in the mixed Tajik-Pushtun family of Doctor Keramuddin Kakar, where he met the wife of the latter, Anahita Rotebzad, who became an eminent figure of the PDPA.
In 1952 B. Karmal graduated the Law School of Kabul University. In 1953 he was arrested for organizing student demonstrations and was in prison for about three years. He served in the army in 1957-1959. From 1960 to 1964 he worked in the Ministry of Education and Planning. He was elected a deputy to Parliament under Prime Ministers Ettamadi, Zahir, and Musa Shafik.
He was one of the founders of the PDPA. In 1967, after the split in the PDPA, he headed the “Parcham” faction. After the Party reunited in June 1977 he was the Deputy General Secretary of the CC PDPA. In April 1978 (after the military coup) he became Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Council and Prime Minister of the DRA. In May 1978 he was sent to Czechoslovakia as the DRA ambassador. In August, under pressure from H. Amin, he was removed from all of his posts. Fearing reprisal, he did not return to Afghanistan and stayed to live in the USSR.
He is a skilled orator, emotional, and inclined to abstraction to the detriment of a specific analysis. He has a poor grasp of economic issues which interest him at a general level.
He knows Dari and Pashto, but most often uses Dari.
He is fluent in English and knows some German.
He is married and has four children. His younger half-brother by his father is Mahmud Baryalai.
[Source: A. A. Lyakhovskiy's “Plamya Afgana” (“Flame of the Afghanistan veteran”)”, Iskon, Moscow, 1999; Translated for CWIHP by Gary Goldberg]
Chilhood, education, and political activity background of Babrak Karmal in Afganistan.
Author(s):
Associated Places
Associated Topics
Subjects Discussed
Document Information
Source
A. A. Lyakhovskiy’s “Plamya Afgana” (“Flame of the Afghanistan veteran”)”, Iskon, Moscow, 1999; Translated for CWIHP by Gary Goldberg
Rights
The History and Public Policy Program welcomes reuse of Digital Archive materials for research and educational purposes. Some documents may be subject to copyright, which is retained by the rights holders in accordance with US and international copyright laws. When possible, rights holders have been contacted for permission to reproduce their materials.
To enquire about this document's rights status or request permission for commercial use, please contact the History and Public Policy Program at [email protected].