Babrak Karmal friends' homes. Karmal tried to contact Alexander Puzanov, the Soviet ambassador to Afghanistan, to talk about the situation. Puzanov refused, and revealed Karmal's location to Amin. It should be noted that the Soviets probably saved Karmal's life by sending him to the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia. In exile, Karmal established a network with the remaining Parchamites in government. A coup to overthrow Amin was planned for 4 September 1979. Its leading members in Afghanistan were Qadir and the Army Chief of Staff General Shahpur Ahmedzai. The coup was planned for the Festival of Eid, in anticipation of relaxed military vigilance.
Sultan Mahmud (minister) Sultan Mahmud (minister) Sultan Mahmud (1900 – 1982) was a politician from Arakan, Burma (now Rakhine State, Myanmar). In the British Raj (which included Burma Province until 1937), Mahmud served as cabinet secretary in the Central Legislative Assembly. After Burmese independence, he was elected to the Parliament of Burma through a by election from Buthidaung in 1957. He was re-elected in 1960. He served as Minister of Health of the Union of Burma from 1960 till the 1962 Burmese coup d'état. When Burma was considering becoming a federal state under Prime Minister U Nu's "unity in diversity" policies, Mahmud proposed