Afghan Leader, Rebels Endorse Plan to End War

Afghan President Najibullah and the Muslim rebels fighting to overthrow his Communist-style government endorsed a plan Thursday to end their country’s 13-year-old civil war.

The peace plan would transfer power from Najibullah to a transitional government selected late this month by about 500 Afghans representing every faction--from the Kabul government through the range of exile and rebel groups.

The interim government, to be picked at a meeting in either Vienna or Geneva, eventually would hold elections.

“We believe peace is at hand,” said Benon Sevan, the U.N. special envoy on Afghanistan. “We’re on the right track and moving fast, faster than expected.

“With help, we shall be able to resolve the Afghan conflict now--this month, not next,” Sevan said after a trip to Kabul, the Afghan capital.

Guerrilla sources said the plan was accepted by eight of the 10 Pakistan-based resistance parties, including Hizb-i-Islami, the most radical group. The two that rejected the plan are considered relatively insignificant.

Acceptance marked a turnabout for Hizb-i-Islami, which rejected previous peace plans as a U.S.-led conspiracy and had promised to fight for a fundamentalist Islamic government.

“This is the shortest and best way to solve this problem. This is what we wanted all along,” said Hizb-i-Islami spokesman Saeed Qaribur. “If Najib is ready to transfer power peacefully, why should we fight?”

In Kabul, senior government officials praised the revised plan and said it would accelerate the restoration of peace in their country.

There has been growing concern on all sides that time is running out for a negotiated settlement to the conflict, which began in 1978 when a Marxist-style government took power with the support of the Soviet Union. The war left 2 million Afghans dead and nearly 6 million in exile, envoy Sevan said.

Many people fear that rising ethnic tensions and growing food shortages in Kabul could lead to the sudden collapse of Najibullah’s government.

The major backers of the guerrillas--the United States, Pakistan and Iran--have made clear that they want Najibullah to leave only as part of an orderly transition. They fear that an abrupt departure could trigger widespread fighting.

Two weeks ago, Najibullah promised to transfer all authority to the interim government.