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He instituted programs of political and economic modernizationModernization is the praxis of changing the conditions of a society, an organisation or another group of people in ways that change the privileges of that group according to modern technology or modern knowledge. According to the sociologist Peter Wagner,, ushering in a democratic legislatureA legislature is a governmental deliberative body with the power to adopt laws. Legislatures are known by many names, including: parliament congress diet and national assembly . In parliamentary systems of government, the legislature is formally supreme a, education for women and other such changes. These reforms put him at odds with the religious militantThe word militant can refer to any individual engaged in warfare, a fight, combat, or generally serving as a soldier. Journalists often use militant as a purportedly neutral term for violent actors who do not belong to an established military. Typically,s who opposed him.
He refused to return as a puppet leader during Soviet-backed Communist rule in the late 1970s. He has remained aloof from the bloody feuds that followed the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. However, critics contend that in Afghanistan's most difficult moments, he remained comfortably secluded in Italy and refused to speak out against the Taliban.
Other criticisms include his kindness toward India and his policy toward the Durand Line, in which he has favored the break off of northwest Pakistan into a separate Afghan ethnic homeland.
In April 2002, he returned to Afghanistan to open the Loya jirga scheduled for June 2002. He moved back into his old palace in central Kabul but renounced all claim to the throne.
While in France for a medical check-up, he broke his femur by slipping in a bathroom, June 21, 2003. Rumors of his death followed both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In an October 2002 visit to France, he had also slipped in a bathroom, bruising his ribs.
From a family of Pashtuns, the dominant Afghan ethnic group, he was also educated in the elite culture of Afghanistan's Persian-speaking minority, giving him access to both groups.
See the reigns of Nadir Shah and Zahir Shah for more detailed information on his rule.