Editing Mohammad Najibullah (section)

===Emergency===
Several figures of the [[intelligentsia]] took Najibullah's offer seriously, even if they sympathised or were against the regime. Their hopes were dampened when the Najibullah government introduced the [[state of emergency]] on 18 February 1989, four days after the Soviet withdrawal due to a mujahideen offensive starting to take shape in [[Nangarhar Province]], later leading to the [[Battle of Jalalabad (1989)|Battle of Jalalabad]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fleiss |first=Alex |date=1 May 2024 |title=What happened in the battle of Jalalabad? |url=https://www.rebellionresearch.com/what-happened-in-the-battle-of-jalalabad |access-date=5 February 2025 |website=Rebellion Research |language=en-US}}</ref> 1,700 intellectuals were arrested in February alone, and until November 1991 the government still supervised and restricted [[freedom of speech]]. Another problem was that party members took his policy seriously too, Najibullah recanted that most party members felt "panic and pessimism". At the Second Conference of the party, the majority of members, maybe up to 60 percent, were radical socialists. According to Soviet advisors (in 1987), a bitter debate within the party had broken out between those who advocated the [[Islamisation]] of the party and those who wanted to defend the gains of the Saur Revolution. Opposition to his policy of National Reconciliation was met party-wide, but especially from Karmalists. Many people did not support the handing out of the already small state resources the Afghan state had at its disposal. On the other side, several members were proclaiming anti-Soviet slogans as they accused the National Reconciliation programme to be supported and developed by the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite book | author = Giustozzi, Antonio | title = War, Politics and Society in Afghanistan, 1978–1992 | publisher = [[C. Hurst & Co.|C. Hurst & Co. Publishers]] | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-1-85065-396-7 | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=Hz5NzJtg48kC&pg=PA156 156] }}</ref> Najibullah reassured the inter-party opposition that he would not give up the gains of the Saur Revolution, but to the contrary, preserve them, not give up the PDPA's monopoly on power, or to collaborate with reactionary [[Mullah]]s.<ref>{{cite book | author = Giustozzi, Antonio | title = War, Politics and Society in Afghanistan, 1978–1992 | publisher = [[C. Hurst & Co.|C. Hurst & Co. Publishers]] | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-1-85065-396-7 | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=Hz5NzJtg48kC&pg=PA157 157] }}</ref>

====An Islamic state====
During [[Babrak Karmal]]'s later years, and during Najibullah's tenure, the PDPA tried to improve their standing with Muslims by moving, or appearing to move, to the political centre. They wanted to create a new image for the party and state. Communist symbols were either replaced or removed. These measures did not contribute to any notable increase in support for the government, because the mujahideen had a stronger legitimacy to protect Islam than the government; they had rebelled against what they saw as an anti-Islamic government, that government was the PDPA.<ref>{{cite book |last = Riaz | first = Ali | author-link = Ali Riaz | title = Religion and politics in South Asia | publisher = [[Taylor & Francis]] | year = 2010 | isbn = 978-0-415-77800-8 | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=vzI8e-zJf5YC&pg=PA34 34] }}</ref> Islamic principles were embedded in the 1987 constitution, for instance, Article 2 of the constitution stated that [[Islam]] was the state religion, and Article 73 stated that the head of state had to be born into a Muslim Afghan family. The 1990 constitution stated that Afghanistan was an [[Islamic state]], and the last references to [[communism]] were removed.<ref>{{cite book | author = Yassari, Nadjma | title = The Sharīʻa in the Constitutions of Afghanistan, Iran, and Egypt: Implications for Private Law | publisher = Mohr Siebeck | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-3-16-148787-3 | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=CMGfLzYWeW4C&pg=PA15 15] }}</ref> Article 1 of the 1990 Constitution said that Afghanistan was an "independent, unitary and Islamic state."<ref name="IslamicState"/> In 1990, Najibullah abolished the [[Democratic Women's Organisation of Afghanistan]], eradicating their Marxist rhetoric as early as 1986, and replaced it with the apolitical [[Afghan Women's Council]], which is still in existence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moghadam |first=Valentine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iKsSEulnPTsC&dq=Firuza+Wardak&pg=PA70 |title=From Patriarchy to Empowerment: Women’s Participation, Movements, and Rights in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia |date=2007-06-18 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0-8156-3111-8 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1992, Najibullah appealed to the [[United States]] to help Afghanistan become a bulwark against the spread of [[Islamic fundamentalism]]. He said: “If fundamentalism comes to Afghanistan, war will continue for many more years. Afghanistan will turn into a centre of world smuggling for narcotic drugs. Afghanistan will be turned into a centre for terrorism”.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Najibullah |first=Muska |date=27 September 2021 |title=My father was brutally killed by the Taliban. The US ignored his pleas for help |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/27/father-killed-taliban-us-ignored-pleas-daughter-afghan-president |access-date=29 January 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>