Afghan king presided over lengthy golden age

Afghan king presided over lengthy golden age
By Aunohita Mojumdar

Financial Times

Published: July 24 2007 03:00 Last updated: July 24 2007 03:00
Zahir Shah, the former monarch who has died in Kabul at the age of 92, watched his country descend into a period of extraordinary tumult. His peaceful, un-interrupted reign of 40 years was followed by an exile of nearly three decades after he was deposed in a bloodless coup by his cousin.
In exile, he saw his country passing from his cousin's hands into those of a communist regime supported by the Soviet Union. For a while, Afghanistan was a cold-war battleground, but when Soviet troops eventually left after being defeated by Mujahideen fighters there followed a period of bloody, internecine conflict.
The Taliban movement of fundamentalist Islamists took over, until they were ousted following 9/11, and many Afghans clamoured for Zahir Shah to return. He did so in 2002, but not as king - merely with the title of Father of the Nation.
Born in 1914, he was educated in Kabul and Montpellier in southern France. Returning to Afghanistan, he was trained as an army officer and became a government minister. His reign began bloodily. In 1933, the 19-year-old Zahir Shah was thrust abruptly into the role of king when his father Nadir Shah was murdered in front of him.
Though nominally the monarch, power was exercised largely by his uncles, and it was only in the 1950s that Zahir Shah assumed full control. Although never a dynamic ruler, his neutral foreign policy and limited liberalisation fostered a lengthy period of peace - sometimes seen today as a golden age. His reign, one of the longest in Afghanistan's history, saw the founding of democratic institutions, including parliament, elections and a new constitution.
He was married in 1931 to Lady Homira. The couple had two daughters and five sons. The royal family org-anised hunting trips and lavish parties, and espoused liberal values. Women enjoyed considerable freedom to participate in public life.
But economic development remained largely confined to Kabul. This led to discontent and paved the way for a coup in 1973 by Zahir's cousin and former prime minister Mohammad Daud Khan.
Zahir Shah, who was deposed during a trip to Italy, remained there in exile until 2002. Following the fall of the Taliban regime, many thought that Zahir Shah, a Persian-speaking Pashtun, would be a unifying factor as king, who would be acceptable to the country's disparate ethnic groups. Instead, he stepped aside and became a revered but largely ineffectual and ailing figure. His family, however, retain an influential position in Afghan politics - notably through his grandson, the outspoken Mustafa Zahir.
For Afghanistan, the death of Zahir Shah brings formal closure to an era of dynastic rule. Yet the democratic reforms and institutions he introduced during his 40- year reign are those Afghanistan is trying to implement once again - an enduring tribute to his legacy.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007