Renegade Afghan General Flees With Family to Pakistan

A renegade Afghan general who tried to overthrow the government of Afghanistan fled with his family to Pakistan today, Pakistani and guerrilla sources said, giving weight to government claims the coup attempt had been crushed.

Gen. Shah Nawaz Tanai, the battle-hardened defense minister linked to three coup attempts against the Soviet-backed government in Kabul, flew in an Afghan military helicopter with his wife, two daughters and a son to the frontier town of Peshawar, said the sources, who demanded anonymity.

According to guerrilla sources, Tanai left Bagram air base at 2 p.m. Earlier reports said mutineers had seized Bagram, Afghanistan’s largest air base. The Afghan government had denied those reports, and the situation remained unclear late today.