RIYADH, Nov 9: Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a deal was struck between Saudi Arabia, the United States and Pakistan according to which weapons (for the resistance against the Soviet invasion) were to be purchased with Saudi and American money while Pakistan was assigned the task of providing logistical support of supplying them to various Mujahideen factions resisting against the foreign invasion of Afghanistan, the former Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Turki Al-Faisal told the Saudi daily Arab News and the MBC television network in an exclusive interview, the sixth and final part of which was carried on Sunday. Prince Turki had been the chief of Saudi intelligence for almost a quarter of a century and was personally involved in Afghanistan affairs from the very beginning, when the Soviet forces entered Afghanistan. He remained the chief of the Saudi intelligence until a few months back.
“Following the Soviet invasion there were contacts with the late Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq and the United States. It was agreed that support should be given to Mujahideen, who were active both before the invasion and during it.
The deal stuck until the last Soviet soldier left Afghanistan,” Prince Turki elaborated.
“Saudi officials had always given Pakistan full consideration. Pakistan was the next target after Afghanistan and in order for Pakistan to avoid being subjected to any inconvenience or accused of supplying arms and sheltering the Mujahideen, it was agreed that such operations should be conducted in secrecy,” he explained.
This however, did not mean that the Russians were not aware of what was going on, but had no proof, which could have allowed them to rally an international position against Pakistan. “The Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) was keen on ensuring the safety and stability of Pakistan as it was on the success of jihad.” The agreement called for both the Kingdom and the United States to share the cost on an equal footing, he disclosed.
He said the annual budget to fund the war kept changing from year to year. The late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat had important links with the Jihad, he disclosed, because Egypt was a source for the weapons’ since the arms needed by the Afghans were Soviet made. Some were enhanced weapons; others were purchased by Egypt from the Soviet Union. It was important that such activity had to be arranged with President Sadat and later with his successor, President Hosni Mubarak.
Prince Turki also elaborated on how the Saudi interest grew in Afghanistan affairs. He said the Kingdom’s interest in Afghanistan started long before the Soviet invasion of the country in 1979. However, it became a top priority of the Saudi foreign policy agenda after the Communists took power in the Muslim country and later when the Soviet forces entered Afghanistan.
He said Saudi officials warned President Daud, who took power by overthrowing his cousin, King Zahir Shah in 1973, against relying on the Communists to consolidate his rule. President Daud however brushed aside the suggestion and told the Saudis during a visit to the Kingdom in 1977 that he would move on the Communists first by “having them for lunch before they had him for dinner.”
What happened was that the Communists moved fast and had him for breakfast,’ Prince Turki stated. He added the Russians had plans since the days of the Czars to establish themselves a foot in the warm waters. “It was obvious that the invasion of Afghanistan was one step towards reaching other countries, specially Pakistan and then moving on to the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula,” he asserted.
Elaborating on differences between various Mujahideen factions, Prince Turki, who personally knew virtually every one involved in the Afghan Jihad, said he would never forget a comment he heard from Ahmad Shah Ahmadzi, the prime minister of the transitional government formed by the Afghans before the withdrawal of the Soviet forces. Ahmad jokingly suggested during a summit meeting with Pakistani officials that all nine Afghan leaders attending the meeting, including himself, should be arrested. The prince quoted him as saying this was “the best means to achieve the interests of the people.”
At every stage of Jihad, he told there was an attempt to reconcile the various Mujahideen factions. There was the Loya Jirga initiative in 1987 in Pakistan, he said, when the Mujahideen tried to form a transitional government on the eve of the Soviet withdrawal. Prince Turki described this effort as “the cleanest of all the attempts,” with everybody attending with the hope that it would result in international recognition.
As per the agreement whoever would have won the highest vote was to become the president, followed by vice president and the foreign minister. Gulbadeen Hekmatyar however, did not approve of the vote result as per the above agreement and rejected the outcome by withdrawing from the session.
Prince Turki said at this he personally went to see Hekmatyar at his residence in an attempt to convince him to change his rejection of the outcome of the Loya Jirga. He said he succeeded in doing so and returned with a pledge from Hekmatyar. Less than an hour later, someone told Prince Turki that Hekmatyar in a statement to a radio station has rejected once again the result of the vote and accused some countries of influencing the results. At that point the Prince said he decided to leave Islamabad for Jeddah.
The prince reasserted, “It is impossible for Pakistan, the United States, Saudi Arabia or someone else to impose a solution on Afghans.” He categorically denied that the Kingdom had any special preference for any of the Afghan leaders. The Saudi assistance used to be distributed among various parties on the recommendations of the charity officials in Pakistan, the US and the Kingdom.
“It is baseless to say that Sayyaf was the favourite of the Kingdom. This rumour might have originated because of the fact that Sayyaf represented the Mujahideen in a summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference held in Makkah in 1980. He said every Afghan has a role to play in the reconstruction of the war torn Afghanistan. “Like Sayyaf in the north, there are other Pakhtoon leaders, such as Hekmatyar and King Zahir Shah. All should play their roles.”
He summed up his extensive interview by saying that no one faction could be blamed for the woes of Afghanistan over the last many years. “As Ahmad Shah Ahmadzi said, leaders of all factions are responsible for the turmoil in Afghanistan.”
He hoped that the King Fahd Project to rebuild Afghanistan would be revived. The Kingdom has a pioneering role in the reconstruction of the country, Prince Turki added.
