- Atlanta - Boston - Chicago - DC Area - Houston - Jersey Area - Los Angeles - New York - SF Bay Area
- Earlier editions
- Astrology - Cricket - Money - Movies - Women - India News - US News
K J M Varma in Islamabad
The conference of the anti-Taleban commanders and Afghan leaders at Peshwar on Wednesday gave a tacit backing to the reinstatement of former Afghan King Zahir Shah, even as Pakistan denied it was supporting some Pushtoon leaders to form a new government to replace the Taleban militia.
Hundreds of Afghan tribal elders, former Mujahideen commanders and other leading Afghan leaders mainly from dominant Pushtoon tribe converged at Peshawar on to attend a conference convened by a prominent Afghan figure Pir Sayed Ahmad Gailani.
The conference agreed for the reinstatement of Shah who is living in exile in Rome, as acting head of state.
Discussions were on to form a broad-based multi-ethnic government and the composition of a 120-man interim council to oversee the transition of power and avoid a power vacuum.
According to BBC, no significant members of the opposition Northern Alliance were present at the meeting.
Surprisingly representatives of the former King were also not present at the conference. Pakistan, meanwhile, denied reports that it backed Gailani for the post of Prime Minister.
Replying to questions on the conference at a media briefing, Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesman Raiz Mohammad Khan said, "This is a process of consultations, something may emerge from Peshawar, something may emerge from Rome and something else may emerge from Afghanistan itself."
Denying that Pakistan was backing Gailani, he said our view is that any effort to impose one group or other on Afghanistan will not be successful.
This has been our experience in the past because that will not bring peace to Afghanistan and what we are interested in is peace and stability in Afghanistan, he said.
The War on Terrorism: The Complete Coverage
The Terrorism Weblog: Latest Stories from Around the World
External Link: For further coverage, please visit www.saja.org/roundupsept11.html
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
