Editing Babrak Karmal (section)

====Dividing power: Khalq–Parcham====
With Kārmal's ascension to power, Parchamites began to "settle old scores".{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=104}} [[NKVD troika|Revolutionary Troikas]] were created to arrest, sentence and execute people. Amin's guard were the first victims of the terror which ensued. Those commanders who had stayed loyal to Amin were arrested, filling the prisons. The Soviets protested, and Kārmal replied, "As long as you keep my hands bound and do not let me deal with the Khalq faction there will be no unity in the PDPA and the government cannot become strong&nbsp;... They tortured and killed us. They still hate us! They are the enemies of the party&nbsp;..."{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=104}} Amin's daughter, along with her baby, was imprisoned for twelve years, until [[Mohammad Najibullah]], then leader of the PDPA, released her.{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=104}} When Karmal took power, leading posts in the Party and Government bureaucracy were taken over by Parchamites. The Khalq faction was removed from power, and only [[technocrat]]s, [[Opportunism|opportunists]] and individuals which the Soviets trusted would be appointed to the higher echelons of government. Khalqists remained in control of the [[Ministry of the Interior (Afghanistan)|Ministry of Interior]], but Parchamites were given control over [[KHAD]] and the secret police. The Parchamites and the Khalqists controlled an equal share of the military. Two out of Karmal's three Council of Ministers deputy chairmen were Khalqists. Khalqists controlled the [[Ministry of Communications (Afghanistan)|Ministry of Communications]] and the interior ministry. Parchamites, on the other hand, controlled the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Afghanistan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] and the [[Ministry of Defence (Afghanistan)|Ministry of Defence]].{{sfn|Arnold|1994|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TmMJnaMVN6oC&pg=PA44 44]}} In addition to the changes in government, the Parchamites held clear majority in the [[Central Committee of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan|PDPA Central Committee]]. Only one Khalqi, Saleh Mohammad Zeary, was a member of the PDPA Secretariat during Karmal's rule.{{sfn|Arnold|1994|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TmMJnaMVN6oC&pg=PA45 45]}}

Over 14 and 15 March 1982 the PDPA held a party ''conference'' at the Kabul Polytechnic Institute instead of a party ''congress'', since a party congress would have given the Khalq faction a majority and could have led to a Khalqist takeover of the PDPA. The rules of holding a party conference were different, and the Parchamites had a three-fifths majority. This infuriated several Khalqists; the threat of expulsion did not lessen their anger.{{sfn|Arnold|1994|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TmMJnaMVN6oC&pg=PA48 48]}} The conference was not successful, but it was portrayed as such by the official media. The conference broke up after one and a half days of a 3-day long program, because of the inter-party struggle for power between the Khalqists and the Parchamites. A "program of action" was introduced, and party rules were given minor changes. As an explanation of the low party membership, the official media also made it seem hard to become a member of the party.{{sfn|Arnold|1994|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TmMJnaMVN6oC&pg=PA49 49]}}