Habibullah Kalakani, derided by the Pashtuns as "Bacha-ye Saqao", was the ruler of Afghanistan from 17 January to 13 October 1929, and as well as a leader of the Saqqawists. During the Afghan Civil War, he captured vast swathes of Afghanistan and ruled Kabul during what is known in Afghan historiography as the "Saqqawist period". He was an ethnic Tajik. No country recognized Kalakani as ruler of Afghanistan.
Portrait of Habibullāh Kalakāni
Kalakani with followers
Kalakani (far left) and his closest followers was ordered by Mohammad Nadir Shah to be executed (likely at the Arg) and their bodies displayed publicly at Chaman-e-Uzuri (pictured) in Kabul on 1 November 1929.
Afghan Civil War (1928–1929)
The Afghan Civil War was fought from 14 November 1928 to 13 October 1929. Rebelling, and subsequently governing Saqqawist (Saqāwīhā) forces under Habibullāh Kalakāni fought against various opposing tribes and rival monarchs in the Kingdom of Afghanistan, among whom Mohammed Nādir Khān eventually achieved a preponderant role. Despite early successes, such as the capture of Kabul and defeat of Amanullah Khan on 17 January 1929 or the capture of Kandahar on 3 June, the Saqqawists were eventually deposed by anti-Saqqawist forces led by Nadir on 13 October 1929, leading to Nadir's ascension as King of Afghanistan, who ruled until his assassination on 3 November 1933.
Red army troops in Afghanistan.
Habibullah Kalakani, the Tajik bandit, popularly known in Afghanistan as Bacha-i Saqqao, shown as a prisoner before being executed in November 1929.
