"We invite all Afghan groups at this stage to come to Kabul and to speed up negotiations on the future of Afghanistan" the Minister told CNN, adding, "Taleban excluded."

"The city was placed under the control of a joint military-security committee to prevent any bloodshed", Afghanistan’s Ambassador to London Vali Mas’ood told the Persian service of the BBC, assuring at the same time the Zaher Shah group that the Alliance would respect engagements signed last month in Rome with representatives of the former Monarch and other groups.

"The surprising defeat of Taleban had placed our forces in front of a fait accompli. We had to enter the city in order to maintain the people’s security and welfare. But we would fully respect our engagements", he assured.

Mr. Seirat had told the same Radio that the King’s group was not aware and informed of the Alliance’s decision to capture Kabol, adding that the use of force "would not solve anything in Afghanistan but to add to the people’s suffering".

Confirming the formation of the committee, led by General Mohammad Sadeq Fahim, the Alliance’s Defence Minister, Abdullah said about 6,000 troops were in and around Kabul.

"Despite international pressure, there was no choice but to send in security forces after the Taleban withdrew", Abdullah said.

"The Taleban authorities were not seen in Qandahar. There was no responsible authority to respond to the needs of the people", he said.

Asked about the whereabouts of the Taleban’s leader Mollah Mohammad Omar and Osama Ben Laden, the American’s most wanted man, Mr. Roy said they would "probably" have fled to Pakistan.

Both the United States and the Northern Alliance had ruled out any halt in military operations during that month. But this was before the dramatic collapse of the Taleban, analysts noted.

French Foreign Hubert Vedrine welcomed the victory of the Northern Alliance, but cautioned that there should not be a repeat of the past tragedies.

However many Afghans said they fear the vacuum created by the retreat of the Taleban forces could lead to anarchy. And before the U.S.-led air campaign began, the Taleban warned it would wage a guerrilla campaign from the Afghan mountains and the country's vast wilderness.

Reports from the United Nations suggests that the Organisation’s special Envoy for Afghanistan is working hard to convene a meeting of the Supreme Council for National Unity in Turkey or in Geneva or perhaps in the holy city of Mecca within the coming 48 hours.

The United States and the countries most closely affected by developments in Afghanistan called today for "broad- based, multiethnic, politically balanced, freely chosen Afghan administration" to take charge once the Taleban is totally driven from Kabul.

The goal, issued in a statement by a group known here as "Six plus Two" — the United States and Russia plus China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan --, became more urgent with the fall of Kabul.

The group met with the special United Nations Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who returned last week after a tour of the region and whose mission the group formally endorsed.

After the meeting, Mr. Brahimi said he would try to convene "a representative sample of the Afghan population together and see what kind of interim arrangements can work together for Kabul".

"As things are moving very fast, we need to bring the political aspects in line with the military development on the ground", Secretary General Kofi Annan said. "We have to move quickly, and we have to be flexible", he noted.

The formation of the SCNU was agreed during discussions held in Rome between representatives of the former King, the Northern Alliance and some other groups.

The developments of the past few days mark a dramatic turn in the campaign that began on 7 October, when U.S. forces launched air strikes on Afghanistan in retaliation for the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington.

The sudden and unexpected collapse of the Taleban surprised all concerned capitals of the world, including Washington.

The White House said the president is "very pleased" with military developments, adding that the Northern Alliance has been told to respect human rights as well as to await the efforts under way to build a broad-based coalition for a post-Taleban government.

French President Jacques Chirac who is visiting some Arab countries checking their readiness to participate in a UN-sponsored peacekeeping force for Afghanistan called from Abu Dhabi for the immediate formation of an interim administration made of all Afghan ethnics and religious minorities, including the Pashtoons, but excluding the Taleban.

The British government urged the international community to work rapidly to piece together a truly representative coalition government.

Pakistan, a former supporter of Afghanistan's Taleban rulers and uncomfortable bedfellow in the coalition supporting U.S.-led military action, urged the Northern Alliance to keep out of Kabul and called on the United Nations to declare the capital a demilitarised zone.

"We are based on a mission to provide security to Kabul and I am not here in the capacity of a government official'', the Alliance’s Interior Minister Yunes Qanooni, told Iranian television.

"We have not entered here to establish a government ...We are still abiding by our previous position", he said, referring to a promise the alliance made to the U.S.-led coalition against terrorism not to occupy Kabul and become the sole power in Afghanistan.