Their attempt to open a "southern front" against the Taleban ultimately aims to strengthen the Pashtoon component of any future government. Their action coincided with an October 24 meeting of 800 Afghan Pashtoon exiles in Peshawar that seeks to establish a political counterweight to the anti-Taleban Northern Alliance, which is made up of mainly Tajiks and Uzbeks in northern Afghanistan.

Factionalism and deep mistrust among Afghan Pashtoon leaders continues to prevent the formation of a common Afghan front against the Taleban. The failure of Pashtoon tribes to unite in opposition to the Taleban, which also draw support from Pashtoons, could hinder the US-led offensive against the Taleban leadership and Osama Ben Laden. In 17 days of intense US bombing not a single Afghan city has fallen to the anti-Taleban alliance, nor has there been a single defection of a prominent Taleban leader.

The meeting of more than 800 Afghan exiles in Peshawar took place under the auspices of moderate spiritual leader Pir Sayed Ahmad Gailani. He called for the cessation of US bombing of Afghanistan, and the establishment of a transitional government of technocrats under the guidance of the country’s former monarch, Mohammed Zaher Shah.

"Afghanistan dangles between life and death, efforts should be made to stop the military operations and start work on the reconstruction of the country as soon as possible", Gailani told the assembled "white beards," or tribal elders. The gathering represented tribal and clan leaders from the Pashtoon ethnic group, but had no representation from Zaher Shah’s recently formed 120-man Supreme Council for the Unity of Afghanistan. There were no Northern Alliance representatives at the Peshawar gathering either.

In his 10-minute speech Gailani did not mention that Zaher Shah has already created a 120-man Supreme Council, on which the Northern Alliance enjoys substantial representation. The formation of the council is seen as the first step towards calling for a Loya Jirga or tribal council that would choose a new government. Gailani also made no reference to a future role for or any participation of the Northern Alliance in the political process.

"Everyone is using the King’s name to gain legitimacy because the King is the most popular man in Afghanistan, but there is only one Loya Jirga process," said another Zaher Shah supporter in Quetta, Pakistan.

  Pakistani officials insist that their support for Gailani is not motivated by a desire to create an alternative to the king’s initiative. They say they want to galvanize Pashtoons, who are presently leaderless and directionless. Islamabad is also anxious to prevent the Northern Alliance from dominating the next Afghan government.

In the south, Hamid Karzai – a chief of the Popalzai tribe which inhabits the Kandahar region, where Taleban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and Osama Ben Laden are based – left Quetta last week with another group of heavily armed men and entered southern Afghanistan.

The two men seek to foster an anti-Taleban uprising in the Pashtoon belt of southern Afghanistan. An uprising would potentially assist the US-led military campaign, as well as strengthen the Loya Jirga process.

Senior aides to both commanders remain deeply critical of the anti-terrorism alliance for failing to support the efforts to foment the uprising in southern Afghanistan.

The United States and Great Britain appear reluctant to support a Pashtoon uprising out of concern that it would rile Pakistani leaders. US strategic planners deem Pakistan’s support for the anti-terrorism campaign crucial for success.

Islamabad, which has close ties with the Taleban, is undertaking its own efforts to promote the defection of Taleban leaders, who could then join the Loya Jirga process. Pakistani leaders figure Taleban defectors would help promote Pakistani security interests, countering Northern Alliance influence over Afghanistan’s post-war development.

Western diplomats suggest the United States is in a quandary because, while Pakistan is not delivering on its promise of creating Taleban defections, Washington is also unwilling to allow the Northern Alliance to capture Kabul. Pakistan has said it would not tolerate a Northern Alliance seizure of Kabul.

Musharraf’s tough ultimatum has rankled Russia, Iran, India and the Central Asian states, all of which have aided the Northern Alliance military effort.

These countries also refuse to sanction a role for moderate Taleban leaders in any future government in Kabul.