Castro offer to mediate

Press, 1 April 1980, Page 9

Castro offer to mediate

NZPA-Reuter Havana The Cuban Government has confirmed an offer by President Fidel Castro to mediate between Pakistan and Afghanistan over the crisis in the region. An official statement said that Dr Castro had offered ■his good offices with a view to seeking “a political solution to the complex situation in South-West Asia. which constitutes a threat to international peace and security.” The Cuban mediation offer was first reported last week after the Cuban Foreign

Minister (Mr Isiodoro Malmierca) had visited Moscow, Kabul, and Islamabad. He, left Pakistan last Thursday, the first senior official of a pro-Soviet Gov-, ernment to visit the country since the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in December. The Cuban statement said Dr Castro’s offer was contained in letters to the presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan delivered by Mr Malmierca. He had returned to Havana with replies from the two Asian leaders. The Afghan leader, Babrak

Karmal, has been quoted by the West German magazine; “Der Spiegel,” as saying there were no more than 15,000 Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan. Western sources have put the Soviet force at close to 100,000. Mr Karmal accused his predecessor, Hafizullah Amin, who was overthrown and executed, of being an American agent who ran a regime ’ “100 times more ruthless than. Pol Pot in Kampuchea” and who bore responsibility for the murder of 1.5 million people.