Daud Khan received approval in 1977 of his new constitution from the National Assembly, which wrote in several new articles and amended others. In March 1977 Daud Khan, then president of Afghanistan, appointed a new Cabinet composed of sycophants, friends, sons of friends, and even collateral members of the royal family. The two major leftist organizations, the People's (Khalq) and Banner parties, then reunited against Daud Khan after a 10-year separation. There followed a series of political assassinations, massive antigovernment demonstrations, and arrests of major leftist leaders. Before his arrest Hafizullah Amin, a U.S.-educated People's Party leader, contacted party members in the armed forces and devised a makeshift but successful coup. Daud Khan and most of his family were killed, and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was born on April 27, 1978.
