Asmatullah Achakzai Muslim’s peace talks with the Russians

Asmatullah Achakzai Muslim’s secret peace talks with the Russians and the Afghan government in Kabul disrupted the anti-Soviet resistance in the Kandahar region at a moment when Lin and his companions were waiting in Quetta to cross into Afghanistan. Because so much depended on Asmatullah’s militia, its withdrawal from active service left other resistance units isolated and their supply routes exposed. The talks turned a military delay into a crisis over whether the regional struggle would continue at all.

The Achakzai and Their Commander

The talks acquired their force from the Achakzai’s standing as a clan and a fighting force. Sheep and goat herders who had once belonged to the dominant Durrani clan, they were formally separated from it in 1750 by Ahmed Shah Abdali, founder of modern Afghanistan. Afghan custom allowed a sub-clan to become independent when it had grown sufficiently large or strong; the separation also acknowledged the Achakzai’s power and the need to appease them. Over the following two centuries, the clan increased its status and earned a reputation for fierce fighting and obedience to its leader.

During the early years of the war against the Russians, Asmatullah organized his men into a well-armed, highly disciplined militia. In their region, they became the spearhead of the independence struggle and its jihad against the Soviet invaders. His authority therefore carried consequences beyond his own force: when he changed course, the resistance around Kandahar could not simply continue as before.

The Talks and the Withdrawal

Toward the end of 1985, as Lin’s group prepared in Quetta for the crossing into Afghanistan, Asmatullah began to vacillate in his commitment to the war. He pulled his men back from active service and began secret peace talks with the Russians and their Afghan puppet government in Kabul. The account establishes that the talks were under way, but does not disclose their terms or confirm a final decision by Asmatullah.

The immediate consequence was a collapse of the resistance in the Kandahar region. Other mujaheddin units outside Asmatullah’s command, including Khader Khan’s men in the mountains north of the city, remained in position, but were left isolated. Their supply routes became perilously vulnerable to Russian attack. The withdrawal thus weakened not only the militia’s direct contribution but also the security and viability of forces still fighting nearby.

The Waiting in Quetta

Asmatullah’s uncertainty kept Lin and his companions waiting for a month in Quetta. The delay was marked by false starts: the group could not know whether he would resume the jihad or switch sides and support the Russians. Since the resistance in the region depended so heavily on his militia, his unresolved choice determined whether their intended crossing led into an active struggle or a newly compromised one.

The episode is narrated from Lin’s position among those waiting, with the military and political crisis conveyed through its practical effect: no one could predict which way Asmatullah would jump. The drawn-out pause makes the peace talks consequential before their outcome is known. Rather than presenting a settled agreement, the narrative leaves the group suspended between two possible futures, while the other units’ exposed supply lines show the cost of that uncertainty.