Word: najibullah
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Though the guerrilla war simmered beyond the city limits, Kabul was calm. Traffic filled the streets as Afghans commemorated the monthlong Muslim holiday of Ramadan. In the bazaars, everything from carpets to Coca-Cola was selling briskly. Even so, the mujahedin have forced the government of & Communist Party Chief Najibullah to take precautions within the capital. There are insistent signs of anxiety. Sounds of distant artillery salvos punctuate Kabul evenings like erratic heartbeats. Searchlights rake the surrounding hills in search of rebel infiltrators. In the daytime, armored personnel carriers often clatter through city streets that are patrolled by soldiers armed...
...Afghan capital of Kabul was strangely quiet last week. After seven years of a Moscow-backed civil war with Muslim guerrillas, the government began a six-month cease-fire, called by Afghan Communist Party Leader Najibullah. Fifty foreign correspondents were taken on carefully planned tours of Kabul the day Najibullah appeared on television to plead with rebels to join the cease-fire...
Rebel spokesmen were quick to reject the bid as a "deception," noting that Najibullah had not indicated whether the 115,000 Soviet troops in Afghanistan would stay in their barracks. Said Mohammed Nabi Mohammedi, spokesman for the Islamic Alliance of Afghan Mujahedin: "We should have direct negotiations with the Soviets, and they should stop hiding behind the puppets in Kabul...
Last week's visit made it clear that Najibullah's proposed six-month cease- fire was more than propaganda. In remarks to Afghan journalists before he left the capital, Shevardnadze praised the cease-fire offer and hinted that a Soviet troop withdrawal was "not far off" so long as "freedom-loving cowboys," apparently meaning the U.S., stop aiding the rebels...
With the rebels showing no intention of going along, it is doubtful that Najibullah's cease-fire will get off the ground this week. A fresh test of Soviet intentions will come on Feb. 11, when, under U.N. auspices, talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan resume in Geneva. In previous rounds the sticking point has been the timing of a Soviet withdrawal. Moscow would like a three- or four-year deadline; Pakistan, which indirectly represents the interests of the rebels and the West, insists on no more than three or four months. "If the Soviets are as serious about seeking settlement...