Babrak Karmal have so far not opted for concrete and constructive positions." During Karmal's rule Afghan–Pakistani relations remained hostile; the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan was the catalyst for the hostile relationship. The increasing numbers of Afghan refugees in Pakistan challenged the PDPA's legitimacy to rule. The Soviet Union threatened in 1985 that it would support the Baloch separatist movement in Pakistan if the Pakistani government continued to aid the mujahideen in Afghanistan. Karmal, problematically for the Soviets, did not want a Soviet withdrawal, and he hampered attempts to improve relations with Pakistan since the Pakistani government had refused to recognise the PDPA
Sultan Mahmud (minister) Sultan Mahmud (minister) Sultan Mahmud (1900 – 1982) was a politician from Arakan, Burma (now Rakhine State, Myanmar). In the British Raj (which included Burma Province until 1937), Mahmud served as cabinet secretary in the Central Legislative Assembly. After Burmese independence, he was elected to the Parliament of Burma through a by election from Buthidaung in 1957. He was re-elected in 1960. He served as Minister of Health of the Union of Burma from 1960 till the 1962 Burmese coup d'état. When Burma was considering becoming a federal state under Prime Minister U Nu's "unity in diversity" policies, Mahmud proposed