Editing Hafizullah Amin (section)

===Rise to power===
In-mid July the Soviets made their view official when ''[[Pravda]]'' wrote an article about the situation in Afghanistan; the Soviets did not wish to see Amin become leader of Afghanistan. This triggered a political crisis in Afghanistan, as Amin initiated a policy of extreme repression, which became one of the main reasons for the Soviet intervention later that year.{{sfn|Brecher|Wilkenfeld|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GjY7aV_6FPwC&pg=PA357 357]}} On 28 July, a vote in the PDPA Politburo approved Amin's proposal of creating a [[collective leadership]] with collective decision-making;{{sfn|H. Kakar|M. Kakar|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=QyTmFj5tUGsC&pg=PA36 36]}} this was a blow to Taraki, and many of his supporters were replaced by pro-Amin PDPA members.{{sfn|Wahab|Youngerman|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=y20MTE0C9kwC&pg=PA150 150]}} Ivan Pavlovsky, the Commander of the [[Soviet Army|Soviet Ground Forces]], visited Kabul in mid-August to study the situation in Afghanistan. Amin, in a speech just a few days after Pavlovsky's arrival, said that he wanted closer relations between Afghanistan and the [[China|People's Republic of China]]; in the same speech he hinted that he had reservations about Soviet meddling in Afghanistan. He likened Soviet assistance to Afghanistan with [[Vladimir Lenin]]'s assistance to the [[Hungarian Soviet Republic]] in 1919. Taraki, a delegate to the conference held by the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] in [[Havana]], met personally with [[Andrei Gromyko]], the Soviet [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]], to discuss the Afghanistan situation on 9 September. [[Shah Wali (politician)|Shah Wali]], the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Afghanistan)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]], who was a supporter of Amin, did not participate in the meeting. This, according to Beverley Male, "suggested that some plot against Amin was in preparation".{{sfn|Male|1982|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-cYOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA184 184]}}

Taraki was instructed to stop-over in Moscow, where the Soviet leaders urged him to remove Amin from power as per the KGB's decision, because Amin posed danger. Amin's trusted aid, Daoud Taroon, informed Amin of the meeting and the KGB's plan. In Kabul, Taraki's aides, the [[Gang of Four (Afghanistan)|Gang of Four]] (consisting of Watanjar, Mazdoryar, Gulabzoi and Sarwari), planned to assassinate Amin but failed as Amin was informed of their plot. Within hours of Taraki's return to Kabul on 11 September, Taraki convened the cabinet "ostensibly to report on the Havana Summit". Instead of reporting on the summit, Taraki tried to dismiss Amin as Prime Minister. Amin, aware of the murder plot, demanded the Gang of Four to be removed from their posts, but Taraki laughed it off.{{sfn|Male|1982|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-cYOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA185 185]}}{{sfn|Rasanayagam|2005|p={{pn|date=September 2024}}}} Taraki sought to neutralise Amin's power and influence by requesting that he serve overseas as an ambassador. Amin turned down the proposal, shouting "You are the one who should quit! Because of drink and old age you have taken leave of your senses."

On 13 September, Taraki invited Amin to the presidential palace for lunch with him and the Gang of Four. Amin turned down the offer, stating he would prefer their resignation rather than lunching with them. Soviet ambassador Puzanov persuaded Amin to make the visit to the Presidential Palace along with Taroon, the Chief of Police, and Nawab Ali, an intelligence officer. Inside the palace on 14 September, bodyguards within the building opened fire on the visitors. Taroon was killed but Amin only sustained an injury and escaped. Amin drove to the Ministry of Defence building, put the Army on high alert and ordered Taraki's arrest. At 6:30&nbsp;pm tanks from the 4th Armoured Corps entered the city and stood at government buildings. Shortly afterwards, Amin returned to the palace with a contingent of Army officers, and placed Taraki under arrest. The Gang of Four, however, had "disappeared" and sought refuge in the Soviet Embassy.

After Taraki's arrest, the Soviets tried to rescue Taraki (or, according to other sources, kidnap Amin) via the embassy or [[Bagram Air Base]] but the strength of Amin's officers repelled their decision to make a move. Amin was told by the Soviets not to punish Taraki and strip him and his comrades of their positions, but Amin ignored them. Amin reportedly discussed the incident with [[Leonid Brezhnev]], and indirectly asked for the permission to kill Taraki, to which Brezhnev replied that it was his choice. Amin, who now believed he had the full support of the Soviets, ordered the death of Taraki. It is believed Taraki was suffocated with pillows on 8 October 1979. The Afghan media would report that the ailing Taraki had died, omitting any mention of his murder.{{sfn|Misdaq|2006|p=125}} Taraki's murder shocked and upset Brezhnev.<ref>''Humanitarian Invasion: Global Development in Cold War Afghanistan'' by Timothy Nunan</ref>