Afghans Say Soviets Plan Faster Pullout : 9-Month Schedule for Troops Erases Obstacle to Accord

Afghan negotiators Thursday announced a plan for accelerated withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, a development that removes one of the last obstacles to agreement on restoring peace in the war-torn country.

Abdul Wakil, the foreign minister of Moscow’s client regime in Kabul, the Afghan capital, disclosed that the proposed timetable for the Soviet pullout had been shortened from 10 months to 9 and that half of the estimated 115,000 troops would leave in the first three months.

“From our side,” he said, “there is nothing more in dispute, nothing more to be discussed.”

The United States and Pakistan, where the major Afghan resistance groups are based, had pressed for a “front-loaded” pullout, with most of the troops leaving early in the withdrawal period.

Gorbachev Accepted Principle

Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev, in a statement issued last month, had accepted the principle of a front-loaded pullout, but formal proposals had not been submitted in the Geneva talks until Thursday.

Announcement of the new timetable heightens the prospects for agreement on a settlement that would commit Moscow for the first time to withdrawing military support from a Marxist government.

The Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979 in order to prevent the regime from being overwhelmed by a growing resistance movement.

Thursday’s development is expected to increase pressure on Pakistan to drop its remaining concerns and agree to the settlement.

A spokesman for the Pakistani delegation, Bashir Babbar, described the concession on a withdrawal timetable as a major development, but he said the Afghan foreign minister had “gone a little bit too far” in implying that the negotiations are now complete.

Still Loose Ends

“There are other loose ends to tie up,” he said.

He noted, for example, that the United States and the Soviet Union, which have agreed to guarantee the final settlement, must still approve the terms of the agreement.

Babbar said that Pakistan had wanted an 8-month withdrawal period but implied that a period 30 days longer will not be a major stumbling block.

He emphasized that Pakistan will continue to press U.N. mediator Diego Cordovez to assist in forming an interim coalition government in Afghanistan to carry out parts of the settlement, including the return of more than 4 million refugees from Pakistan and Iran and the election of a permanent government.

The makeup of a transition government is technically outside the scope of the negotiations here. Cordovez has resisted Pakistani attempts to link it with a settlement.

“It is a matter for the Afghans to settle among themselves,” he said.

The Soviets and the Americans have both made it clear that they believe that efforts to establish an interim government should not delay a settlement, but Pakistan has argued that it is vital to prevent a bloody free-for-all as the Afghan rebel factions vie for power.

Leaders of Afghan resistance groups based in Pakistan have threatened to ignore any agreement that does not guarantee them a major role in the interim government.

“We have to make sure these instruments are more than pieces of paper,” Babbar said.

May 15 Target Date

Gorbachev has declared a willingness to start the Soviet pullout by May 15 if Pakistan and the Marxist government in Kabul reach agreement by March 15.

The Kabul regime, presented with the reality of an imminent Soviet departure, has apparently decided to gamble that the absence of a transitional government works in its favor by further increasing tension among the various rebel groups and thus improving its chance of survival.

Talks on the proposed agreement have been under way for nearly six years, with Cordovez mediating between delegations from the Kabul regime and the Pakistani government. Because Pakistan does not recognize the Afghan government, the negotiations have been indirect, with the delegations sitting in separate rooms and Cordovez shuttling between them.

Accord on 3 Points

Broad agreement had been reached on three of the proposed accord’s four parts before the present round of talks began Wednesday. These include a pledge of mutual non-interference, a plan for the orderly return of 3.5 million Afghan refugees who have fled the war to sanctuary in Pakistan--there are others in Iran--and international guarantees provided by the United States and the Soviet Union.

The unresolved issue was the timing of the Soviet withdrawal.

The head of Pakistan’s delegation to the talks, Deputy Foreign Minister Zain Noorani, is scheduled to return today to Islamabad, his capital, for consultations, but he plans to return to Geneva on Sunday.

Babbar said the proposed terms of the settlement will be discussed with government officials and with members of Pakistan’s political opposition. The talks are expected to be resumed Monday.