Diplomats doubt Afghan claims

Press, 27 April 1984, Page 6

Diplomats doubt Afghan claims

NZPA-AP New Delhi Western diplomats expressed doubts yesterday about assertions by the Soviet-backed Afghan Government that its forces had seized control of a strategic valley in a heavy assault on anti-Marxist rebels. There was no mention of the Panjshir Valley offensive on Wednesday night’s broadcast by the official Afghan radio, fuelling speculation that fighting was continuing. Kabul radio reported earlier that Soviet and

Afghan forces had wrested control of the 160 km-long gorge from Muslim guerrillas entrenched in the area for four years. “Our valiant forces have crushed all rebel resistance in the Panjshir Valley,” the radio said in a broadcast monitored in New Delhi. “There is absolute calm in the beautiful Panjshir Valley.” But a Western diplomatic source said, “considering the geography of the large, narrow valley, we disbelieve Kabul’s claim that Soviet and Afghan forces

captured Panjshir in one single day.” “We believe the battle is still on in Panjshir,” he said. The valley, which controls vital supply routes from the Soviet Union to Kabul, has resisted six previous fullscale Soviet offensives. A year-long truce expired in January, and a new attack was widely anticipated. Western diplomats said that Soviet troops had penetrated 25km into the gorge during their last assault, in late 1982, only to be driven back by rebels firing from

the mountains. A New Delhi-based Afghan exile leader, S. M. Maiwand, said that he believed the Government assertions were false and aimed at “misleading the world.” He noted that during the last Soviet penetration into the Panjshir Kabul radio had broadcast daily reports on victory rallies and visits to the area by Government officials. He said that it was “fishy” that there had been no mention of the Panjshir in Wednesday night’s broadcast.