The Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan (, Hezb-e Komunist (Ma'uist) Afghanistan), previously known as the Communist Party of Afghanistan, is an underground communist party in Afghanistan oriented around Marxism–Leninism–Maoism (MLM). The party was founded in 2004 through the merger of five MLM parties. It was a member of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM). During the U.S.-led occupation of Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021, the party's stated goal was to start a people's war in order to expel foreign forces from Afghanistan, with the ultimate goal of establishing a New Democratic society and socialism in the country. After the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Afghanistan and the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan by the Taliban in mid-2021, the party changed its primary goal to overthrowing the Taliban's government. History The first communist organization in Afghanistan, Progressive Youth Organization (PYO) was formed in 1965. There were daily demonstrations, and street fighting between students, workers, and social justice activists and police and armed forces of King Zahir Shah. These struggles led to the formation of the PYO. A few circles of intellectuals and political activists came together to form the first communist organization to work for the goal of revolution in Afghanistan. Akram Yari, a Maoist, was the leader of one these circles, who played a prominent role in the formation of PYO. PYO remained an underground organization. The PYO leaders published a magazine called Sholaye Jawid. Sholaye Jawid claimed to be a new-democratic journal, which was widely and openly circulated. After publishing 11 issues, Sholaye Jawid was seized by government and its publication banned. The government of the time used law enforcement and Islamic fundamentalists against Sholaye Jawid supporters. These government tactics led to physical confrontation between those who supported the Maoists and those who were against the Maoists, that resulted to the death of a prominent Maoist student leader Saydal Sokhandan, who was assassinated by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on the Kabul University campus. Gulbadin Hekmatyar later became the leader of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan, who has been a key ally of the United States in the past. When the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) came to power in a military coup in 1978, the PDPA regime declared their number one enemy to be the PYO-led Maoist movement. All people belonging to the Maoist movement were arrested and killed indiscriminately. Thousands of Maoists and their allies were killed. The