Sulaiman Layeq

Sulaiman Layeq (born Ghulam Mujaddid) (Dari/, sometimes also Romanised as Laeq or Laiq) (12 October 1930–31 July 2020) was an Afghan communist politician (belonging to the Parcham faction), ideologue and poet who held the positions of President of the Academy of Sciences, full member of the Afghan Politburo, and Minister of Nationalities and Tribal Affairs.

Biography Sulaiman Layeq was born to a Sulaimankhel Pashtun family in Sharana. His father Abdul Ghani named him Ghulam Mujaddid. Abdul Ghani was a religious tribal figure who had fought the British during the Afghan War of Independence. His father was a khalifa of the Naqshbandi Sufi order led by the influential Mojaddedi family of scholars. Following Khyber's assassination, tens of thousands of people poured the streets for the funeral which turned into a protest march against the President Daoud Khan. Daoud Khan arrested many leading members of the PDPA, Layeq would turn himself into the authorities. During the arrests Hafizullah Amin, the leader of the Khalq factions underground military network ordered pro-PDPA officers to overthrow the government before being arrested leading to the Saur Revolution. Following the revolution Layeq and the rest of the jailed PDPA members were released driving to Radio Afghanistan to announce the victory. Layeq would become the Minister for Radio and TV in the first PDPA government cabinet. Most Parchamites were either jailed or exiled as the Khalqists consolidated power. In 1978, Layeq initially only lost his post and seat in the politburo but in March 1979 Layeq was arrested and sentenced to death. He was sent to the infamous Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul. The relationship between Hafizullah Amin and Taraki started to worsen as Amin moved to consolidate power. The Soviets worried that Hafizullah Amin was a part of the American CIA helped Taraki with an attempt to assassinate Amin. Amin was shot in the arm however he managed to drive to the Military headquarters and put the army on high alert ordering the arrest of Taraki. Taraki would later be executed through suffocation. The death of Taraki shocked Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and led to him finally sending troops to Afghanistan after refusing multiple requests from Taraki. Hafizullah Amin was killed during Storm-333 in December 1979 and many of the jailed Parchamites including Layeq were freed from prison. In April 1980 the Parchamite government under Babrak Karmal adopted a new flag and constitution, Layeq would become the chair of the country’s Academy of Sciences. He also returned to the PDPA's central committee as an alternate member and became the deputy chairman of the National Fatherland Front. His most important role however was his position as Minister for Tribal and Border Affairs from 1981 until 1989.

Layeq died in Germany on July 31, 2020. The government gave him military honors and flew him back to Afghanistan. According to The New York Times quoting Layeq's second son Zmarak, Layeq left behind around 70 volumes of unpublished political diaries.

Books Chunghar چونغر De Abaseen Spaiday د اباسين سپېدې Kaygday کېږدۍ Qeesay Aw Afsanay قصې او افسانې