ABSTRACT
On 8 February 1988, Mikhail S. Gorbachev appeared on Soviet television to make a statement about Afghanistan. Gorbachev shrewdly conveyed the impression that his statement created a fleeting chance for political settlement and this disposed the United States and Pakistan to sign on 15 April 1988 a set of agreements which became known as the Geneva Accords. Gorbachev's statement created a dilemma for the international supporters of the Mujahideen. The positions of leadership circles in Pakistan and the United States were, however, somewhat different. The most notable feature of the Accords was that they matched what the Soviet Union had all along demanded and paid no heed to the political interests of the popular opposition. In the period between the signing of the Geneva Accords and the formal completion of the Soviet troop withdrawal in midFebruary 1989, the Soviet Union adopted a multidimensional strategy to further its interests in Afghanistan.
