of the most controversial developments of the war, namely the
negotiation of a ceasefire between Massoud and the regime, which
lasted from December 1982 to April 1984 (Gromov, 1994: 192).
Critics of the ceasefire argued that it simply liberated Soviet forces
to attack hard-pressed Mujahideen elsewhere. Defenders of
Massoud argued that it was dictated by the dire humanitarian cir-
cumstances in Panjsher after the August–September 1982 attacks
and the very hard winter which followed (Dupaigne, 1983), and
ultimately allowed Massoud and his forces not only to fight an-
other day, but to commence more coordinated operations in the
north – in other words, to ‘break out’ (Roy, 1990: 199). According
to one report, during the ceasefire he deployed forces to attack
Soviet positions in the Shomali Valley to the north of Kabul, and
in the vicinity of Balkh (Urban, 1990: 144). From this perspective,
Massoud’s approach simply applied an old strategic principle:
reculer pour mieux sauter.
Massoud’s successes derived from a number of factors. One was
undoubtedly his personal charisma, to which many of his inter-
locutors have testified. Another was a genuine understanding of the
nature of guerrilla warfare, on which subject he was much more
widely read than most other resistance commanders. But equally
important was his promotion of a more highly developed organisa-
tional basis for military action. His approach was more institutional
than patrimonial (Dorronsoro, 2000: 145); and while maintaining
the autonomy of his military force, he consulted extensively with
both religious and civic notables through a system of councils
(Rubin, 1995a: 234–7). This gave him the capacity to protect the
civilian population by moving to evacuate threatened villagers to
side-valleys when the main part of the Panjsher was under attack,
and this in turn helped consolidate the loyalty of the residents to
him.
The Hazarajat
The Hazarajat represents a special case, not only because of its geo-
graphic isolation, but also because of the dominant position of the
90 The Afghanistan Wars