The World : Kabul Asks for Cease-Fire

The Soviet-backed Afghan government called for a cease-fire beginning Jan. 15 as a first step in ending the seven-year war with Muslim rebels, the Soviet news agency Tass said. But the Pakistan-based rebels immediately rejected the offer, which was announced by Afghan leader Najib in a speech to the Central Committee of the People’s Democratic Party in Kabul. Efforts to end the war have dragged on, although Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev has said he wants a peaceful solution and recently announced the withdrawal of about 8,000 Soviet troops as a symbolic gesture. Najib met with Gorbachev in mid-December to discuss the pullout of Soviet troops, estimated to number more than 115,000, Western diplomats said.