The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

awaiting further instructions. My arrest must have caused some commotion in thepolitically active circles of Afghan society.”He began to smoke. He listened to the sounds that came from beyond the prisonwalls. Cars honked their horns and traders hawked their wares. Life went on as usual inKabul. Karmal sat against the wall, smoking and thinking.Babrak Karmal was the second most senior member of the party after NurMohammad Taraki. Being number two had somewhat diminished his self-esteem, but heunderstood that the unification of the party meant that there could not be two equallyprominent leaders. Thus it was important to forego personal ambitions for the sake of theconsolidation of the country’s national and revolutionary forces. He had always beennumber two in the party, since its inception.Babrak remembered the First Founding Congress of the PDPA that took place onJanuary 1, 1965 in the house of Nur Mohammad Taraki. Twenty-seven young men whodecided to dedicate themselves to “the struggle for the better future of Afghanistan” hadgathered there. Metal chairs were unfolded in rows in the living room. A wood stovecrackled and warmed the air.Adam Khan Jaji, a former military pilot and the oldest of the delegates, was electedby an open vote as temporary chairman of the congress. He, his deputy, and his secretary,who was tasked to record the minutes of the meeting, sat around a coffee table with a boneinlay. Taraki and Karmal, smiling and exchanging banter with one another, sat in the frontrow on the left side. The participants of the congress were trying to speak and applaudquietly. It was, after all, an underground meeting. The participants all were well aware ofthe conspiratorial nature of their gathering, and knew that not far from the house a64