U.S. and Soviets Sign Afghan Pullout Pact : 115,000 Red Army Troops to Begin Leaving May 15

The United States and the Soviet Union today signed an accord to end Moscow’s intervention in Afghanistan and allow the Red Army to start pulling out its 115,000 troops on May 15.

Afghanistan and Pakistan also signed the agreement in a solemn 10-minute ceremony in a marble and gold council chamber at U.N. headquarters. Pakistan was representing the Afghan guerrillas, who have vowed to continue their war to oust the Marxist government in Kabul.

Secretary of State George P. Shultz, who signed for the United States, said the agreement would allow the people of Afghanistan to determine their own future and to restore the independence they have earned through “blood and sacrifice.” Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze signed for the Soviet Union.

Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar of the United Nations said the U.N.-mediated agreements “represent a major stride in the effort to bring peace to Afghanistan.”

Afghans, Pakistan Also Sign

Also signing the accord were Foreign Minister Abdul Wakil of Afghanistan and Acting Foreign Minister Zain Noorani of Pakistan.

Shultz said the United States will continue to aid the Afghan guerrillas until the Soviets stop arming the Afghan government. But he also said the agreement will “improve the atmosphere” of U.S.-Soviet relations and could help end Soviet intervention in other regional conflicts.

The settlement followed six years of on-again, off-again negotiations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which neighbors Afghanistan and is home to an estimated 3 million Afghan refugees.

The Muslim insurgents fighting the Marxist Afghan government for 10 years have headquarters in Pakistan. Pakistan also serves as the conduit for foreign military aid to the guerrillas.

Perez de Cuellar opened the 10-minute ceremony by thanking Afghanistan and Pakistan for their “tireless efforts.” He thanked the United States, which supports the guerrillas, and the Soviet Union, which backs the government, for agreeing to guarantee the accord.

No Support for Secession

The agreement commits Pakistan and Afghanistan to not support “directly or indirectly, rebellious or secessionist activities” against each other, and it provides for the withdrawal of Soviet troops who entered Afghanistan in 1979 to help the government.

Shultz said he was confident the Soviet Union would begin its troop withdrawal on schedule May 15.

But in Pakistan, President Zia ul-Haq said he foresees continued turmoil in Afghanistan because the agreement does not address the issue of a new government to replace the one headed by President Najibullah.

There is no provision in the accord to end the war, and it says nothing about the composition of future Afghan governments.