Afghan Students Association

History

The 1970s were a pivotal decade for Afghanistan, marked by political instability, modernization efforts, and ideological polarization.

The Kingdom of Afghanistan, under King Mohammed Zahir Shah (1933–1973), transitioned to the Republic of Afghanistan in 1973 after a coup by Mohammad Daoud Khan, Zahir Shah’s cousin and former prime minister. This regime change has links to the CIA's destabilization efforts. Daoud’s administration, pursued modernization but faced opposition from fascists and Islamist factions.

As Afghanistan’s premier institution, Kabul University was a hub of intellectual and political activity, enrolling over 10,000 students by the 1970s, with women comprising over 60% of the student body, per PBS Wide Angle. Its diverse student body, including Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and others, reflected Afghanistan’s multi-ethnic society, making it a breeding ground for competing ideologies. King Mohammed Zahir Shah had ensured this modern evolution was happening inside Afghanistan and the Daoud administration was supportive of it continuing.

The university hosted radical student groups, including the communist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) factions (Khalq and Parcham) and Islamist organizations like the Muslim Youth (later Jamiat-e Islami), which opposed both the monarchy and communism, per Refworld. These groups were influenced by global Cold War dynamics and United States was vying for influence in Afghanistan due to its close proximity to the Soviet Union as well as its mountainous area which was suitable for opium crops.

The term “Afghan Students Association” The groups included

Students Union of Kabul University (founded April 4, 1950), the country’s first organized student movement, which challenged the monarchy’s economic policies, per Afghanistan Analysts Network. By the 1970s, this legacy continued, with students forming associations aligned with political factions, driven by debates over modernization and Islamism.

Socialist Groups: Affiliated with the PDPA, split into the Khalq faction (led by Nur Mohammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin, rural Pashtun-based) and Parcham faction (led by Babrak Karmal, urban multi-ethnic, moderate), per Refworld. These groups advocated for social reforms, land redistribution, attracting students like Amin, who was a teacher and administrator at Kabul University in the 1960s–1970s.

Islamist Groups: The Muslim Youth, formed in the late 1960s at Kabul University and renamed Jamiat-e Islami in 1972, opposed communism and Western influence, led by figures like Burhanuddin Rabbani and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, per Refworld. These groups, supported by professors like Rabbani, laid the groundwork for the Mujahideen resistance and association with the United States and the CIA.

Other Factions: Smaller nationalist and pro-democracy groups existed, though less influential.

Key Figures

Hafizullah Amin, a prominent PDPA-Khalq leader, was a central figure in student activism. After studying at Columbia University (1957–1963), where he led the Afghan students’ association and joined the Socialist Progressive Club, Amin returned to Kabul University as a teacher, later becoming principal of Avesina High School and Darul Mualimeen College. His socialist ideology influenced students. Other figures, like Taraki and Karmal, also engaged with student groups, while Islamist leaders like Hekmatyar mobilized anti-communist sentiment in alignment with the west.

Activities and Political Impact

Activism and Protests

Student associations organized rallies, debates, and publications at Kabul University, advocating for social reforms (e.g., women’s education, land reform) or religious conservatism. In 1972–1973, protests against Daoud’s administration. Soon, Muslim Youth’s anti-communist demonstrations gained traction in rural areas, foreshadowing the Mujahideen uprising.

Saur Revolution 1978

Bolstered by student activist support, overthrew Daoud in the Saur Revolution on April 27, 1978, establishing the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan under Taraki, with Amin as a key figure. Student activists, particularly Khalq supporters, played a role in mobilizing urban support.

Soviet Invasion 1979

The details of what prompted the invasion will be covered in "Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan]] but it should be noted that it involved actions taken by the CIA and was orchestrated to stave off land reform which is a common pattern of Operation Gladio/Operation Condor operations in regime change operations. In the immediate aftermath of the invasion Amin was assassinated. This escalation the destabilization and strengthened the Mujahideen which already had connections to the CIA.

Operation Cyclone

The CIA’s Operation Cyclone (1979–1992) funded Mujahideen groups. CIA activities in Afghanistan pre Saur Revolution included intelligence gathering and covert support for anti-communist activities per The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk.

Hafizullah Admin

Hafizullah Amin, a key Khalq leader and Kabul University figure, led the Afghan students’ association at Columbia University (1957–1963), funded by the Asia Foundation, a known CIA front. The Asia Foundation, established in 1954, supported student groups, channeling funds through educational programs, per The Cultural Cold War by Frances Stonor Saunders. While this funding targeted Afghan students in the U.S. Amin's support of the land reforms and other aspects of the government of Daoud was counter to CIA objectives and may have led to his assassination.

Pre-1979 CIA Activities

A 1979 CIA National Foreign Assessment Center report, Afghanistan: Ethnic Divergence and Dissidence (published March 1980), indicates the agency monitored Afghanistan’s political landscape, including student activism per CIA FOIA. The CIA’s focus was on tribal and religious leaders, not urban students, until Operation Cyclone targeted Islamist Mujahideen like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former Muslim Youth student leader, per Ghost Wars by Steve Coll.

USAID

USAID a known CIA front, established in 1961, focused on development aid in Afghanistan during the 1970s, supporting agriculture, education, and infrastructure. Its education programs, including teacher training and school construction, engaged universities. USAID supported Kabul University through faculty exchanges and curriculum development in the 1960s–1970s, particularly in agriculture and engineering, per Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response by M. Hassan Kakar. For example, USAID funded the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s partnership with Kabul University to train teachers, per The History of USAID in Afghanistan (archived).

Asia Foundation

(ties to the CIA): The Asia Foundation’s funding of the Afghan students’ association at Columbia University (1957–1963), led by Hafizullah Amin, is well-documented, per Wikipedia on Hafizullah Amin. In Afghanistan, the foundation supported educational initiatives at Kabul University in the 1960s–1970s, including scholarships and library development, per The Asia Foundation: A History (asiafoundation.org, archived).

Ford Foundation

The Ford Foundation (ties to the CIA) funded agricultural research at Kabul University in the 1970s, per Ford Foundation Annual Report (1970s, archived). The Rockefeller Foundation focused on health programs, per Rockefeller Foundation Archives.

Conclusion

For decades, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan—known as the Golden Crescent—dominated the global opium market as a major hub for production and trafficking. However, production shifted to Afghanistan in the 1970s after opium was banned in Turkey and other countries in the Golden Crescent resulting in 80% of the world's opium supply being located in Afghanistan while US non profits were supplying 'agricultural' technical assistance. This coincided with the loss of the Golden Triangle opium routes ran out of Vietnam. Land reform was frowned upon by the west, intelligence agencies in need of opium sales for fund covert operations.