AFGHAN ANTI-TALEBAN GROUPS TO FORM NATIONAL UNION SUPREME COUNCIL WITH ZAHER SHAH

ROME First of October (IPS) Afghanistan former King Mohammad Zaher Shah delegations from the Northern Alliance and other Afghan groups that fight the ruling Taleban agreed Monday on the formation of a "Supreme Council for National Union" (SCNU) as a first concrete step to end the brutal rule of the Taleban.

Coming at the end of three days of intense negotiations held in Rome between several delegations, the 120-members SCNU is to convene its first session within ten to fifteen days, "as soon as the anti-Taleban forces presents their nominees for the Council.

Announcing to the press the conclusion of the talks, a Northern Alliance spokesman said convention of an Extraordinary Loya Jirga, or Assembly of Elders, as proposed by the 86 years-old Zaher Shah, is the main task of the SCNU.

"In order to establish an atmosphere of confidence among all Afghans fighting the Taleban and continue efforts aimed at bringing peace in Afghanistan, we agreed with the King to form a Supreme Council for National Union as a first step towards solving difficulties that our country faces", said Mr. Yunes Qanooni, the Head of the Northern Alliance (NA).

Each side would sent 60 members to the Council that, in turn, would decide on the convention of the Loya Jirga, "possibly inside Afghanistan" as well as the transition period mechanism by naming a provisory prime minister.

"All Afghan tribal and ethnic groups and religions would be present at both the SCNU and the Extraordinary Loya Jirga", Mr. Qanooni stated.

During their stay in the Italian capital, the Afghan delegates also met with a bipartisan team of the US Congress and brief them on the situation in Afghanistan, telling them with force and conviction that the key to the Afghan tragedy in in Islamabad and with the Pakistani rulers who have transformed this war-torn nation into a vassal state.

They told the US lawmakers that they were ready to join the international coalition against terrorism, but at the same time expressed their opposition to a lasting "foreign" presence in their country.

"We told the congressmen that we welcome any help and assistance from the United States and we are ready to help America in getting and punishing the terrorists wherever they are, but at the same time any possible invasion of Afghanistan must spare civilians.

Both sides described the talks as "positive and fruitful".

"The American party expressed readiness to bring the anti-Taleban forces all necessary military, financial, political and humanitarian support needed to topple the Taleban as quickest as possible", another Afghan spokesman said.

"The United States had every right to punish the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks but urged Washington not to harm the Afghan people in its retaliatory measures’, he added, amidst reports that the Taleban’s seemingly iron façade and structure is getting "rusted".

Quoted by the pro-Taleban Afghanistan Islamic Press, Mr. Rahmatollah Vahedyar, a senior Taleban official revealed Monday that the regime’s supreme leader Mollah Mohammad Omar Akhound has called on local chieftains in Khost and Paktia provinces to share power with the Taleban.

Analysts of Afghanistan affairs said if the report is correct, this means a great victory for efforts deployed by the former King in ousting the ruling extremist islamists peacefully.

According to unconfirmed reports from inside Afghanistan, "nationalist" Taleban officials have expressed anger with Mr. Omar’s "sacrificing" the interests of both the nation and the people to the "unjustified" protection of a "foreigner", meaning Mr. Ossama Ben Laden, the prime suspect behind the 11 September terrorist operations in New York and in Wasington.

"For the first time, one can see a light in the long tunnel of Afghan tragedy", said Mr. Baqer Mo’in, the Head of the BBC’s Prsian and Pashtoon services, analysing the importance of the agreements reached in Rome between various Afghan groups fighting the Taleban.

"We are entering a new, concrete era in Afghan politics, a kind of national union based on an encompassing pillars formed by all Afghans, regardless of ethnic, tribes or religions allegiances unseen in the war devastated nation", he noted.

"General Parveez Mosharraf’s recent declarations that the Taleban are edging towards their end are the best indication of serious cracks in the Taleban leadership. This does not mean that all Taleban would vanish. It means that those who have tied their fate to that of Mr. Ben laden would be removed and replaced by others who are now getting the favour of Pakistan and according to some reports, have already established contacts with the former Monarch", Mr. Mo’in commented for the BBC.

In his view, the absence from the scene of the late Ahmad Shah Mas’ood, the legendary Afghan war commander could facilitate rapprochement between "moderate" Taleban with Zaher Shah, who is also of the Afghanistan’s Pashtoon majority ethnic.

"Mas’ood’s staunch anti-Paakistani position was a big obstacle to any such collaboration", he observed.

The Northern Alliance controls less than 10 percent of Afghan territory. ENDS LOYA JIRGA AGREED 11001

Afghanistan's former king Mohammad Zahir Shah is back in the spotlight as a potential unifying force, and a grand political process to replace the Taliban is already on the cards: the Loya Jirga.

Made up of the country's elite, tribal chiefs, religious leaders and political groupings, it is a process considered the only practical alternative to elections -- something that would prove a logistical nightmare in Afghanistan, even in a time of peace.

It also has history behind it, as the Loya Jirga process has shaped the form of modern Afghanistan, at least up until the ouster of the king in 1973. Almost all factions, with the exception of the Taleban, could be expected to back it -- on the condition that it is seen as a homegrown process.

It can convene for just a day or several months, bringing together hundreds of participants in Afghanistan's seat of power, Kabul. No time limits are set, and its decisions are binding.

The work of a Loya Jirga -- a concept stemming from both pre-Islamic local practices and the Islamic concept of "shura," or consultative council -- can range from deciding on a single issue, settling a dispute among rival tribes, enforcing interim rule or approving a constitution.

Throughout the 1800s more Jirgas were held, ruling on matters such as declaring war on foreign invaders and approving a new ruler.

In 1924, King Amir Amanullah Khan convened a 12-day Loya Jirga in Kabul. That produced a draft of the first Afghan constitution. Another was called in 1928 to rule on reforms, and another on women's rights.

In the midst of World War II in 1941, a Loya Jirga voted for the principle of non-alignment and, therefore, kept Afghanistan neutral.

A new constitution was discussed in 1963, and even under the pro-Soviet rule from the 1970's to 1992, several were called but never respected.

But in the context of Afghanistan's current crisis, such a gathering is fraught with pitfalls.

Firstly, Loya Jirgas seen as imposed by outsiders have not been respected. And given the rest of the world's enthusiasm in ridding Afghanistan of the Taliban, such a gathering could be seen as a foreign imposition.

Secondly, there are logistical considerations: participants need to represent all corners of Afghanistan's 30 provinces, for whom travel could be impossible. Disputes could also arise in some areas over who is the legitimate representative.

And then there is the make-up of a Grand Assembly: each of Afghanistan's ethnic groups would be campaigning for proportional representation.

For example, Afghanistan's ethnic Hazara and Shiite Muslim community have always insisted they make up 15 to 20 percent of the population, including the Diaspora now living in Iran.

Not to mention the participation of Kuchi nomads who wander the country with their camels and flocks of sheep, or the millions of Afghan refugees overseas -- many of them key scholars and intellectuals.

A Loya Jirga would have to include members of the Pashtun community -- itself split into a complex array of tribes that straddle the border with Pakistan. The additional catch is that most are now loyal to the Taliban, a faction all but certain to oppose any gathering aimed at replacing its rule.

The issues that need to be addressed are endless. Bad blood between rival groups runs thick, and even the most minor decisions in Afghanistan take time over endless sessions of tea drinking and complex bargaining.