Lean, wiry Bacha Sakao, “The Water
Carrier,” bandit King of Afghanistan sat, unconcerned, in the capital
city of Kabul last fortnight while the King he drove from the throne,
plump, oily Amanullah, prestidigitated in far off Kandahar to show his
fitness to rule. To suspicious Kandahar Afghans plump Amanullah promised last fortnight
to show the famed Khirkai Shereef , a religious relic
of great potency kept in a locked box which only “a man fit to be King”
can open. The holy cloak has rarely been seen for the last 200 years.
Bearded Afghans assembled by thousands for the show. On a platform in Kandahar's largest square stood throneless King
Amanullah and a small ironbound box. Seizing the box firmly, plump
Amanullah struggled with the iron hasp. Loudly he grunted, stoutly he
tugged. So entertaining was the fat man's performance that though he
sweated and wrestled on the platform for two full hours, the entire
audience remained. Finally when his most vigorous contortions and
loudest grunts began to pall, Amanullah paused, cried aloud to Mohammed
for assistance. A final tug, and the box flew open. Perspiring
Amanullah held high Mohammed's sacred cloak. Convinced, the Afghan
audience prostrated themselves in the dust. In the royal palace at Kabul, Padishah Habibullah, as the muscular Bacha
Sakao now calls himself, opened no boxes, neither tugged nor grunted.
He, debonair, wears tight kid gloves to show his gentility, brandishes
two loaded rifles to show his dexterity, wears plentiful ammunition
against emergencies, rules most of Afghanistan.
