Revolutionary Council (Afghanistan) purge of the government. In June 1981 the Revolutionary Council with the Central Committee was again expanded, with now including fifteen more members. At this meeting Nur was appointed President of the Council and Sultan Ali Keshtmand became the new Prime Minister of Afghanistan. In November 1986, Karmal resigned his post as President of the Council and left the new post open to former KHAD leader Mohammad Najibullah. Before Najibullah rose to power Sultan Ali Keshtmand was acting president of Afghanistan and the council. Under Najibullah's sought a ceasefire between Mujahideen and government forces, he called this process National Reconciliation.
Babrak Karmal to top positions. Between March and May 1980, 78 out of the 191 people appointed to government posts were not members of the PDPA. Karmal reintroduced the old Afghan custom of having an Islamic invocation every time the government issued a proclamation. In his first live speech to the Afghan people, Karmal called for the establishment of the National Fatherland Front (NFF); the NFF's founding congress was held in June 1981. Unfortunately for Karmal, his policies did not lead to a notable increase in support for his regime, and it did not help Karmal that most Afghans saw the Soviet