People / group

Parcham

1967–1992 · 20th century

Parcham ('Banner') was one of the two factions of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, led by Babrak Karmal. Drawn mainly from urban, Persian-speaking intellectuals, it backed Mohammad Daoud Khan's coup of 1973, while its rival faction, Khalq, was more radical. After the Soviet invasion of December 1979 Parcham held power under Karmal and later Mohammad Najibullah.

Parcham
Image: User:Ericmetro · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Republic of Afghanistan (1973-1978)Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Parcham. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/parcham
MLA
“Parcham.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/parcham. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Parcham.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/parcham.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Parcham’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/parcham (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻