Afghanistan’s last king Shah has died at 92

KABUL – Afghanistan’s last king, Mohammed Zahir Shah, died in Kabul yesterday aged 92, mourned by the war-torn country where he had spent his final years after returning from three decades of exile.

President Hamid Karzai declared three days of mourning for the ‘Father of the Nation’, whose 40-year rule until 1973 is remembered as a time of peace and stability in the Central Asian country before its descent into chaos. Afghan flags flew at half mast and state-run and private television channels alike replaced scheduled programmes with recitations of the Koran and sombre religious chanting.Zahir Shah ended Afghanistan’s centuries-old monarchy when he abdicated while on holiday in Italy in 1973, after hearing his former premier Mohammad Daud, who was also his cousin, had staged a coup.He stayed in exile during the 1979-89 Soviet occupation and ensuing civil war but returned home months after the 2001 collapse of the ultra-Islamist Taliban regime brought by the US-led invasion after the 9/11 attacks.Karzai announced the king’s death in the presidential palace, saying: “I want to inform all my compatriots that his majesty, the Father of the Nation, Mohammed Zahir Shah, passed away today at 5h45 am.”The former king died in his Kabul residence after a long illness, he said.”We announce three days of national mourning over the death of the father of the nation, and the Afghan flag will be at half mast for three days,” Karzai added.”Prayer ceremonies will be held across the country, in the capital, in the provinces, by Afghan refugees overseas and in Afghan embassies.”Prayers for the late king will be held on Wednesday, and the funeral will take place the following day to allow time for foreign guests, including prime ministers and foreign ministers, to attend, a government official told AFP.Zahir Shah was awarded the title “Father of the Nation” at a constitutional assembly after his return home from exile.Despite pressure from tribal leaders and fellow Pashtuns, Zahir Shah repeatedly said he had no desire to again lead his country.He was in poor health for the last years of his life.His wife Homaira, whom he married in 1931, died as preparations were under way for her to return to Afghanistan to join her husband in 2002.The couple had five sons and two daughters.Nampa-AFPAfghan flags flew at half mast and state-run and private television channels alike replaced scheduled programmes with recitations of the Koran and sombre religious chanting.Zahir Shah ended Afghanistan’s centuries-old monarchy when he abdicated while on holiday in Italy in 1973, after hearing his former premier Mohammad Daud, who was also his cousin, had staged a coup.He stayed in exile during the 1979-89 Soviet occupation and ensuing civil war but returned home months after the 2001 collapse of the ultra-Islamist Taliban regime brought by the US-led invasion after the 9/11 attacks.Karzai announced the king’s death in the presidential palace, saying: “I want to inform all my compatriots that his majesty, the Father of the Nation, Mohammed Zahir Shah, passed away today at 5h45 am.”The former king died in his Kabul residence after a long illness, he said.”We announce three days of national mourning over the death of the father of the nation, and the Afghan flag will be at half mast for three days,” Karzai added.”Prayer ceremonies will be held across the country, in the capital, in the provinces, by Afghan refugees overseas and in Afghan embassies.”Prayers for the late king will be held on Wednesday, and the funeral will take place the following day to allow time for foreign guests, including prime ministers and foreign ministers, to attend, a government official told AFP.Zahir Shah was awarded the title “Father of the Nation” at a constitutional assembly after his return home from exile.Despite pressure from tribal leaders and fellow Pashtuns, Zahir Shah repeatedly said he had no desire to again lead his country.He was in poor health for the last years of his life.His wife Homaira, whom he married in 1931, died as preparations were under way for her to return to Afghanistan to join her husband in 2002.The couple had five sons and two daughters.Nampa-AFP