The primary stumbling blocks between the foreign…
1988 CE
The primary stumbling blocks between the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan are the timetable for the withdrawal of Soviet troops and the cessation of arms supplies to the mujahideen, although more or less continuous talks have been underway in Geneva since 1982 under the auspices of the UN.
In February 1988, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announces the withdrawal of USSR troops.
Peace accords between the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan, with the United States and Soviet Union serving as guarantors, are finally signed in April.
The agreement, known as the Geneva accords, includes five major documents.
Among other things, the accords call for US and Soviet non-interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the right of refugees to return to Afghanistan without fear of persecution or harassment, and, most important, a timetable that ensures full Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan by February 15, 1989.
Gorbachev subsequently carries out his earlier promise to begin withdrawing Soviet troops in May of this year; troops begin pulling out as scheduled.
Significantly, the mujahideen are party to neither the negotiations nor to the 1988 agreement.
Consequently, they refuse to accept the terms of the accords.
