IRONY
April 17th 1992
Benon Sevan, UN Head of humanitarian aid division to🇦🇫 was once sitting on a plane, on same #Kabul airport, waiting for Dr Najib but same Dostam had shut-downed the airport, refused Najib's entry.
Najib Wanted to join his family, had already left for #Delhi
April 17th 1992
Benon Sevan, UN Head of humanitarian aid division to🇦🇫 was once sitting on a plane, on same #Kabul airport, waiting for Dr Najib but same Dostam had shut-downed the airport, refused Najib's entry.
Najib Wanted to join his family, had already left for #Delhi
Sevan,To prevent 🇵🇰🇮🇳 bilateral ties from worsening over Najibullah, had already taken 🇵🇰 PM Nawaz Sharif into confidence before requestng India to give the embattled Afghan president political asylum.
India’s PM Narasimha Rao took an hour to decide that 🇮🇳would host #Najibullah
India’s PM Narasimha Rao took an hour to decide that 🇮🇳would host #Najibullah
Dostam had been receiving political, financial, and military patronage from Najibullah. total “wild card,” as then 🇮🇳ambassador to Kabul Vijay K Nambiar terms it, Dostum turned hostile towards his Patron.
Dostum’s men decided not to storm the plane, and Sevan didn't disembark.
Dostum’s men decided not to storm the plane, and Sevan didn't disembark.
After a furious exchange of abuses and impotent threats, Najibullah turned his convoy around But didn't return home. He feared that the people who sabotaged his escape would not let him live. His ministr of state security, General Ghulam Faruq Yaqubi, was found dead in his house.
While some allege that he committed suicide, Nambiar, who was in touch with Najibullah and his UN handlers, does not rule out assassination. Either way, Najibullah was escorted to the UN compound instead of the presidential palace. India here refuses to give Najibullah asylum
Friends who ditched
Not just Dostum, most of his partymen had also abandoned Najibullah. FM Abdul Wakil and army chief General Mohammad Nabi Azimi, keen on their own political and physical survival, wanted to offer Najibullah as a prisoner to the advancing Mujahideen forces.
Not just Dostum, most of his partymen had also abandoned Najibullah. FM Abdul Wakil and army chief General Mohammad Nabi Azimi, keen on their own political and physical survival, wanted to offer Najibullah as a prisoner to the advancing Mujahideen forces.
Wakil asked Sevan to disembark the plane to avoid potential violence. Wakil, In his next step,stated via Radio Kabul that “Najibullah tried to escape but had been stopped by the armed forces…He must be held to answer certain questions of 🇦🇫people. Govt doesn't want to kill him.
In just few hours, Najibullah had become a “hated dictator” for Wakil, and Ahmed Shah Massoud, who was leading the Mujahideen into Kabul, had become his “esteemed brother.”
New Delhi was merely worried on potential reprisals against the Indian community in Kabul not Najib sadly.
New Delhi was merely worried on potential reprisals against the Indian community in Kabul not Najib sadly.
JN Dixit, then 🇮🇳foreign secretary and who championed Najib in the early 1980s, was concerned that offering him protection in the embassy would further complicate the situation politically. India may never be able to build strong relations with the Mujahideen on a fresh note.
HISTORY REPEATS AFTER 25 YEARS IN AFGHANISTAN:
Many in India argued that giving Najibullah asylum would antagonise the Mujahideen, something that India should avoid. The assumption was that once the anger settled, the Mujahideen would not throw away a beneficial bond with India.
Many in India argued that giving Najibullah asylum would antagonise the Mujahideen, something that India should avoid. The assumption was that once the anger settled, the Mujahideen would not throw away a beneficial bond with India.
UNSG Boutros-Ghali paid sudden visit to Delhi on April 22, 1992. Ghali’s aim was to push 🇮🇳Into exfiltrating Najib from Kabul and give him asylum. After 6days of deliberation,home minister SB Chavan publicly announced that 🇮🇳would shelter Najibullah “if he so desires.”
Playing upon a situation where Najibullah’s “desire” was the last element that would have helped his cause either politically or personally, the statement reeked of political caution.
1994 India sent MK Bhadrakumar to meet Massoud. Then-Indian FS, Krishnan Srinivasan asked Bhadra to consolidate India’ ties with Kabul and request Massoud to let Najib fly to India. Massoud refused…Panjshiri leader ensured that Najib didn't become Delhi’s “trump card” in🇦🇫
India’s pro-Najibullah Afghan policy, as reflected in those highly tense moments, ended in failure. Delhi’s inability to protect Najib, earned it A label of being a reluctant and opportunistic neighbour who abandoned its sole ally in Kabul for new partnerships. SAME HAPPENED NOW
Dostum, many years later, told an Indian intelligence officer that had New Delhi paid adequate bribes, Najibullah might have been a free man
REF:
Murder of a president: How 🇮🇳and UN mucked up completely in🇦🇫
Excerpted from Avinash Paliwal’s book My Enemy’s Enemy
Najib's car:
REF:
Murder of a president: How 🇮🇳and UN mucked up completely in🇦🇫
Excerpted from Avinash Paliwal’s book My Enemy’s Enemy
Najib's car:
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