Afghan Leader May Pull Back Troops in Peace Bid

The leader of the Soviet-backed Afghan government said Saturday that he is prepared to “redeploy” government troops away from villages to encourage Afghan refugees to return to the country.

Speaking at a meeting in Kabul, President Najibullah urged Afghan rebel leaders to return to Afghanistan, where he said they could set up their own newspapers, provided they are peaceful.

The Soviet news agency Tass, in a report from Kabul, the Afghan capital, said Najibullah “expressed the readiness to discuss with the opposition any matters, including the questions of its participation in the government.”

Afghanistan and Pakistan signed an agreement in Geneva on Thursday providing for the withdrawal of an estimated 115,000 Soviet troops beginning when the accord is implemented on May 15. The withdrawal will start two weeks before the scheduled summit meeting in Moscow between President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev. The United States and Soviet Union signed as guarantors of the U.N.-mediated accord.

Pact Provides for Refugees

The Geneva agreement also provides for the return of the millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran. It does not include a cease-fire, and the Afghanistan conflict is expected to continue.

The guerrillas, based in Pakistan, rejected the Geneva accord and said they will continue the struggle until all of the Soviet troops leave and a new, Islamic government rules in Kabul.

They underscored that stand Saturday at a rally near Peshawar, Pakistan, news agencies reported. Leaders of the seven-party alliance of guerrilla groups vowed to maintain their “holy war” until the Marxist government in Kabul is crushed.

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a guerrilla leader and current chairman of the alliance, told the crowd of about 75,000 that the Geneva agreement provides for the return of 5 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran, and he asked for a show of hands of those who will wait until the last Soviet soldier is gone. Virtually all hands went up, according to news reports.

Wants to Remove Fears

Najibullah, in an apparent effort to lure the refugees back, said he wants to remove refugee fears of reprisals, according to the Tass report.

“In order to dispel the last doubts of the refugees who, under the impact of hostile propaganda, are afraid to return to their villages as units of the armed forces of Afghanistan are stat1768910437consider the possibility of redeploying troops in other areas,” Najibullah said.

“At the same time, the compatriots who return home should exert every effort so that armed units of the opposition should not use the areas of their residence for combat operations.”

Najibullah said the government is prepared to arm the tribes in frontier areas so that they can provide their own security.