GORBACHEVWARNS ON AFGHAN AID

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000201640019-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 23, 2012
• Sequence Number: 19
• Publication Date: March 16, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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ARTICLE APPEARED
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WASHINGTON POST
16 March 1985
Gorbachev
Warns on Afghan
Aid
Link Between Pakistan and U.S.' Pressure on Nicaragua Hinted
By Dusko Doder
Washington Post Foreign Service
MOSCOW, March 15-The new
Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev,
has issued Moscow's sternest warn
ing to date to Pakistan for its sup-
port of Afghan rebels, and well-in-
formed circles here reported today
~.. that the Kremlin was considering
unspecified actions against Pakistan
if President Reagan continues his
I military pressure on Nicaragua.
I Signals that Moscow considers
linking the question of Nicaragua to
Pakistan's Policy. toward Afghani
stan'appeared designed to give a'
new twist to both problems. It was
not clear whether these signals hold
any prospects of possible trade-offs,
although they suggest that the new
Pr
..,-
Soviet leader seems determined to
seek a solution of the Afghan issue.
' Gorbachev.,'s warning came yes-
terday during - his meeting with
Pakistani President Mohammed Zia
ul-Haq and Foreign Minister Sahab-
zada Yaqub Khan, who were here
for the funeral of Konstantin Cher-
nenko.
A report on the meeting by the
official news agency Tass included
extraordinarily harsh language. It
said that Gorbachev and Soviet For-
eign Minister Andrei Gromyko gave
the Pakistani leaders "a frank, prin-
cipled assessment of the policy con
ducted" by Zia's government.
I ='? "Aggressive actions" against Af-
ghanistan, a Soviet ally whose gov-
ernment is maintained by about'
100,000 Soviet- troops, are being
carried out from Pakistan's''terri-
tory, the Tass report continued. "It
was also stressed that this cannot
but affect in the most negative way
Soviet-Pakistani relations."
The new Soviet leader appeared
to be taking an. entirely. new and
tougher approach toward the Af-
ghanistan issue. Charges that Zia
was supporting "aggression" against
a Soviet ally and warnings of pos-.
sible dire consequences of his ac-
tions have been voiced in the Soviet
media on several occasions. How-
ever, Gorbachev took the unusual
step of associating himself with
these charges. during his meeting.
with the Pakistani leader yesterday.
j Sources here hinted today.. that
the intensified pressure on Zia was
linked not only to Moscow's grow
ing frustration with the. five-year-
old' military stalemate. in Afghani-
stan.but also to Reagan's increased
pressure on the leftist government
of Nicaragua.
According to these reports, the
Soviets are considering the possi-
bility' of encouraging anti-Zia ele-
ments in Pakistan, presumably by
providing arms and other assistance
td "separatists in border areas such,
as Baluchistan.
-"The sources here suggested that
a'U.S. military action against Nic-
aeagua_would provoke a serious ef-
fort to topple the Zia government.
On Wednesday, Gorbachev re-
ceived Nicaraguan President Daniel
Ortega'. and . Tass reported that
they "vigorously, condemned 'the
U.S. Policy of interference in Latin
American affairs" and agreed on the
need 'to "sharpen international ef-
forts .. for a just political settle-
ment.".
.Diplomatic observers here noted '
that by linking .the problem of Af-
ghan insurgency to America's pres-
sure on Nicaragua, the new lead-
ership seemed to be signaling that
it is capable of inflicting real dam-
age on U.S. interests in an area
close to Soviet borders.
. Washington has longstanding ties
with Pakistan dating from the
CENTO alliance of the 1950s and is
currently supplying Zia's govern-
ment with advanced combat jets'
and. other weapons under a $3.2
billion aid package concluded after
the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
_U.S. sources here said that for"
nearly a year there have been
cross-border raids from Afghani=:'.
stan into Pakistan as well as artil
lery shelling of Pakistani `positions
from Afghan territory.'
There is little doubt that Gor-
bachev would like to find a way out
of the Afghan impasse. The Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan has compli-
.cated.Moscow's relations with Chi-
na, the Moslem countries and the
West. The Afghan war is also be-
coming increasingly unpopular in
the Soviet Union, although discon-
tent" is rarely voiced in public.
: An earlier article in Pravda, the
Soviet Communist Party newspa-
per, included more explicit charges
against Zia 's regime and asserted
that the CIA was maintaining a
"number" of bases an camps in
Pakistan to train and equip Moslem
-insurgents ::who are subsequently, sent into Afghanistan.
Pravda also said that "American_
instructors" are training Zia's police
forces to be "used in the restless
North-West Frontier Province of
GMUnUed
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201640019-2
 . , 1-1.. .... I .. , --J., L . .1 I_
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201640019-2
Pakistan." This border province,
which has become a logistical base.
for the Afghan rebels, includes. an
area where ethnic separatists, tra-
ditionally supported by successive
governments in Kabul, have sought
to establish an independent, state
called Pushtunistan.. .
Pravda_ also charged that all
weapons destined for use by the
Afghan rebels are passing through
{ the Pakistani port of Karachi.
The Gorbachev-Zia meeting ap-
pears to have brought Soviet-Pakis-
leader's words in his meeting with
Zia, as summarized by Tass, stood
in stark contrast to the overall con-
ciliatory and friendly tone of Gor-
bachev's discussions with all other
visiting politicians.
tani relations to a new low.
Zia was here for the third time in
less than 21/z years. In November-
1982, when he attended Leonid
Brezhnev's funeral, Zia was re-
ceived by incoming leader Yuri An=,
dropov, who gave him a warm wel-
come and sought to enlist his sup-
port for a political settlement on
Afghanistan.
Andropov's proposal sought to
end all insurgent activity from Pak-
istan's territory before diplomatic
talks on an eventual withdrawal of
Soviet troops. This initiative came
to naught, and the Afghan problem
has remained stalemated diplomat-
ically as well as militarily.
Zia came to Moscow again in
February 1984 for the funeral of
Andropov and remained in the city
an extra day hoping to meet Cher-
nenko. However, Zia was given a
cold shoulder and left without see-
ing the new Soviet leader. .
This time, Zia was among more
than 25 foreign dignitaries received
by Gorbachev. The new Soviet
[In Islamabad, Zia told a news
conference that he held two "busi
nesslike" meetings with Gorbachev
and that Afghanistan, "as expected,
figured largely" in the talks, The
Associated Press reported.
[Despite "obvious differences of
perception," Zia said, " . . . both
sides seem to be aware that the
problem does not admit of a military
solution "I
Gorbachev also met yesterday
with Afghanistan's communist pres-
ident, Babrak Karmal, and they
jointly condemned "continued ag-
gressive actions by outside forces"
against Afghanistan, according to
Tass. The news agency provided no
other details on the substance of
the talks. '
The Kremlin sent troops into Af-
ghanistan in December 1979 to
back up Babrak after the leader of
the rival communist faction,
Hafizullah Amin, was ousted. '.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201640019-2