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Afghan king hopes to unite people
11/30/2001
By CANDICE HUGHES ROME — The last king of Afghanistan has grown old in genteel Roman exile. Now
87, Mohammad Zaher Shah hasn't been back to his beloved homeland for nearly
three decades. It appears now that he might return, not as monarch but as national
``grandfather,'' a unifying figurehead to inspire his fractious people to work
together and rebuild their battered country. To some, he seems an unlikely candidate for such a daunting task, even though
his role would be largely symbolic. Aloof and modest, he was never a strong
leader. For much of his 40-year reign, Zaher Shah was content to let more
forceful relatives rule in his name. Only in his last decade on the throne did
he begin to modernize his country. When he was ousted in a 1973 palace coup while taking a rheumatism cure at
the thermal baths on the Italian island of Ischia, he mounted no challenge,
choosing exile over bloodshed. Since then he has watched Afghanistan's tribulations from afar, surrounded by
family and a small coterie of devoted aides, passing the time in quiet pursuits
— miniature painting in the Persian style, chess, photography, writing memoirs.
But Zaher Shah has unique attributes that might help his mission succeed.
Untainted by recent wars and factional fighting, he can claim to represent all
Afghans — as he did when he was on the throne. He can also point to 40 years of peace, stability and modest progress during
his reign. Many Afghans look back on that time — and on Zaher Shah — with deep
nostalgia. He was only 19 when he ascended to the throne in 1933 after his father was
assassinated. During his reign, Afghanistan managed to remain neutral through
both World War II and the Cold War. It developed a civil service, hospitals, and
schools, including a modern university. In his final decade on the throne, Zaher Shah began to assert himself,
pushing aside the relatives who had been running the country. It led to his
proudest accomplishment — a new constitution — but also to his downfall. The 1964 constitution made Afghanistan a constitutional monarchy with a
parliament and free elections. It insured women the right to vote, work and go
to school, and mandated primary education for all Afghan children. Although modest, his attempts at modernization won Zaher Shah the enmity of
conservative Muslim clerics — and of a cousin, Mohammad Daoud, who overthrew the
king, ending a 200-year-old Pashtun dynasty. Communists seized power in 1978, and the Soviet military moved in the
following year to support them. At several points in the ensuing years — when the Soviets decided to pull
out, and during the civil war that followed — the king was approached about
going home. Each time he hesitated and the chance was lost. Each time, he sank back into
quiet obscurity, whiling away his days in a secluded villa on the edge of Rome.
But even from afar, Afghan royalty stirred passions. In 1991 a Portuguese
citizen, a recent convert to Islam posing as a journalist stabbed Zaher Shah at
his villa. The king survived, but several members of his family and hundreds of
royalists have been murdered in exile over the years. People in the royal entourage describe Zaher Shah as a gentle man — modest,
tolerant and regally aloof — an elder statesman who outlines broad policy and
leaves the details to others. Since 1999, the king has tried to stir interest in convening a traditional
Afghan assembly, a loya jirga, to form a broad-based government. Although the idea had backing from some exile groups and the Italian
government, it languished until the United States went to war against the
Taliban after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Suddenly, the elegant old exile was in demand. Diplomats and dignitaries flocked to his villa to discuss his peace plan.
Security got so tight that Zaher Shah had to forsake his occasional afternoon
jaunts to sidewalk cafes in the heart of Rome. Most visitors see the king only briefly before being turned over to advisers
for more detailed talks. Zaher Shah speaks French but not Italian, and his
stamina is limited, aides say. His office, a shoestring operation on the outskirts of Rome, is in chronic
disarray. The phone is rarely answered. The king and his wife, Homaira, live comfortably but not lavishly. According
to two people close to the royal entourage, the family is supported by the Saudi
royal house. The office gets modest sums from private donors and the U.S. State
Department. It has no designated spokesperson, which means it speaks not with
one voice, but many. Zaher Shah himself rarely issues statements or meets
reporters. Gen. Abdul Wali, Zaher Shah's cousin, son-in-law, closest aide and constant
companion, says the monarch has never lost his unshakable conviction that his
destiny lies in Afghanistan. ``For us the time is past,'' said Wali, an old man now, like his king. ``We
should serve for a while to prepare the country for a new generation to take
over. But we wish to live in our country, in a free and democratic
Afghanistan.''
Associated Press Writer