Afghan Rebels Reassured on U.S. Help

U.S. officials have reassured Afghan resistance leaders here that the supply of American weapons to rebel forces will continue, and perhaps even increase, until Soviet troops begin leaving Afghanistan as early as May, diplomatic sources say.

“A lot of steps will be taken to make sure (the Afghan guerrillas) will have enough on hand by May 15,” one Western diplomat based in Pakistan said this week.

May 15 is the date set by Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev for starting the withdrawal of an estimated 115,000 Soviet troops, provided a settlement can be reached by March 15 in the indirect negotiations in Geneva between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, where the resistance groups are based. The talks recessed Thursday until next week.

Fear Cutoff of Arms

Leaders of the loosely affiliated Afghan guerrilla groups had been worried that the Geneva talks might prompt an early cutoff in the supply of weapons from the United States. Last year, the CIA reportedly funneled about $600 million in weapons to the resistance, the moujahedeen , ranging from rifles to Stinger ground-to-air missiles.

“The moujahedeen are worried that a cutoff in supplies will be mandated by Geneva,” a Western diplomatic source said. “They’re worried that the United States will make a deal with the Soviets.”

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the fundamentalist guerrilla organization Hizb-i-Islami, or Islamic Party, said he thinks the superpowers have already struck a deal.

Many of the guerrillas, after eight years of fighting against Soviet and Afghan government troops, fear that their effort will be traded away in a foreign conference room where they are not present and not represented.

Want Fruits of Efforts

“We want to be there to collect the fruits of our resistance,” said Sebratullah Mojadidi, a leader with the moderate Afghanistan National Liberation Front.

Mojadidi, an American-educated engineer, was recently named by the Islamic Alliance of Afghan Holy Warriors, a seven-party alliance of Afghan resistance groups, to be vice president of an interim government the alliance has proposed for Afghanistan.

In an effort to reassure the guerrillas this week, Arnold L. Raphel, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, visited Peshawar, the North-West Frontier province city where most of the resistance groups are based. He met with Hekmatyar, Mojadidi and Yunis Khalis, the leader of the seven-party alliance, which includes most of the important rebel groups.

“The ambassador felt the need to come up and reassure them,” a diplomatic source said. “He assured them that the United States would do nothing to put them at risk.”

Troubled by Feuds

Throughout the eight years of the war, the Afghan guerrillas have been troubled by feuds and rivalries. One of the main points of contention is the distribution of weapons, which is looked after by Pakistani intelligence officers. For years, rival resistance groups have complained that the Pakistanis have favored the fundamentalist organizations, particularly those headed by Hekmatyar and Khalis.