The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

anti-party and anti-state activities against Parchamis. They spoke of his secretcollaboration with the Americans and his confidential ties with Kabul’s criminalunderworld. Starostin began compiling the text for his cable to the Center right then andthere.Historians who later studied the events of that period would title this document “TenPoints of Evidence of Hafizullah Amin’s Involvement with the CIA Spy Network and Kabul’sCriminal Underworld.” In reality, the title of Starostin’s cable was much shorter and lessexotic. Referring to Sarwari and the ministers, the cable described Amin’s secret meetingswith a staff member of the American embassy in Kabul who was thought to be anundercover intelligence officer. A specific estate in Paghman, in the suburbs of Kabul,where the meetings had occurred, was named. Sarwari also mentioned that Amin had madean earlier attempt to assassinate his “great teacher.” Specifically, on September 11, theplane that flew Taraki back to Afghanistan was to be “mistakenly” shot down by the airdefense systems covering Kabul airport. Sarwari had personally arrested the traitors then.Watanjar described how Mir Akbar Khyber, the prominent PDPA activist, was murdered inKabul by notorious bandits connected to Sadyk Alemyar, a member of the PDPA CentralCommittee and loyal friend and ally of Amin. Amin had ordered the assassinationpersonally. Khyber, who was highly respected among party members, had taken uponhimself the role of “buffer” in the relationship between Taraki and Karmal. Not only did hemediate their relationship, but also his general presence had a very calming effect on thePDPA leaders. Since the day Amin joined the party, he operated with the goal of driving awedge between the leaders and preventing Karmal’s rise to prominence. The ministers alsodescribed an intimate but little-known friendship between Amin and pro-American547