[sacw] SACW #1 (15 Nov. 01)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | Dispatch #1.
15 November 2001
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

------------------------------------------

#1. 'Second Life' in Afghan Capital (Keith B. Richburg)
#2. RAWA's appeal to the UN and World community
#3. Urgent Action Alert: include Afghan women in transition processes
#4. Declaration of The Essential Rights of Afghan Women (June 2000)
#5. No one should go by their tolerance of music and shaven cheeks
in Kabul. The Northern Alliance includes Mullahs as great bigots as the
Taliban are, minus a few excesses (MB Naqvi)
#6. Fleeing Taliban pile the pressure on Musharraf War on terrorism:=20
Pakistan (Peter Popham)
#7. The War/The Pashtun Deep Loyalties, Ancient Hatreds (Tim Mcgirk)

________________________

#1.

The Washington Post
Wednesday, November 14, 2001; Page A01

'Second Life' in Afghan Capital
Kabul Awakens to Find Taliban Gone, Harsh Rules Lifted

By Keith B. Richburg
Washington Post Foreign Service

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 13 -- The widowed mother of four wanted to=20
shed the long, flowing burqa that covered her from head to toe. The=20
vendor wanted to go to the barber shop to trim his bushy beard. And=20
the taxi driver delighted in playing a cassette of traditional Afghan=20
music at full blast.

Afghanistan's capital awakened with caution and relief today to a new=20
life without the Taliban. For five years, the radical Islamic militia=20
had imposed a strict interpretation of the Koran that banned music,=20
did not allow girls to attend school, prohibited women from working,=20
shut down theaters and forced men to grow beards. Many Kabul=20
residents said seeing the Taliban depart -- hastily during the night,=20
with their belongings piled high on trucks -- was like having a heavy=20
veil lifted after a long period of darkness.

"We just died in this country," said Sayed Ali, 21. "Nothing is left.=20
We just pray to God to eliminate those Taliban as soon as possible.=20
Everybody has gotten tired of this life, this constant changing of=20
regime. . . . If you look at my face, I look 35 or 40. Since the=20
Taliban took over, we haven't understood the pleasure of life."

"I feel like I've just been born. It's my second life!" cried Ahmed=20
Farid, 27, a shopkeeper. "On the first day the Taliban took over, we=20
were happy because we thought there would be security. Then we=20
realized that these were not Afghans. They were Arabs and Pakistanis=20
and others."

Farid recalled how, in the early days of Taliban rule, he trimmed his=20
beard to attend a wedding party, an offense that ran afoul of the=20
Taliban's religious virtues squad and landed him in jail for seven=20
days. Now he said he looks forward to going to the barber shop, "for=20
trimming, trimming."

"They were controlling every part of our life," said Hassibullah, 19,=20
a student. "We weren't allowed to play football. We weren't allowed=20
to go to sports clubs. We weren't allowed to feel like other human=20
beings."

For women, especially, the five years of Taliban rule were=20
exceptionally harsh. They were forced into the traditional burqas,=20
prohibited from working or attending school and could not go outside=20
their homes without a male relative. Now, women said, they are hoping=20
their rights will be restored.

"I'm happy, because I believe now the doors of the schools will be=20
open for girls," said Nabillah Hasimi, 32, a teacher. She said she=20
continued teaching children secretly, risking imprisonment by going=20
from house to house to meet with about 15 girls. "I'm waiting for=20
normal life, for security to return."

Hasimi spoke from behind the face netting of her blue burqa. She=20
never wore one before the Taliban took over and said she will decide=20
whether to shed it once she is sure the militia is gone for good.=20
"Faith is in the heart, not in the burqa," she said.

Another woman, Torpaki, 28, recalled how she was forced to leave her=20
job in a government ministry, even though she was a widow with four=20
children to feed. "First we were told not to leave our homes," she=20
said. "If we did, we would be lashed by the Taliban. On the street,=20
in public."

"We were not used to the burqa, so we were always tripping," she=20
said. Asked whether she would remove the burqa and wear Western dress=20
now that the Taliban has left, she said, "When we are sure the=20
Taliban will not come back, and there is security in the country,=20
then we will decide."

"I feel there were no human rights in Afghanistan," Torpaki said.=20
"Women were not allowed to work or to be educated properly. We were=20
not allowed to leave our house. That means we were in jail."

After awaking to find the Taliban gone and the capital in the hands=20
of the opposition Northern Alliance, she said, "Now there are some=20
rays of hope that there will be women's rights in this country."

While Kabul rejoiced, many remained wary of the Northern Alliance and=20
its intentions. Many here remembered the last time the same diverse=20
coalition seized power, in 1992, and how it led to a tumultuous=20
period of infighting, instability and violence in the capital. It was=20
an experience many here are eager not to repeat.

"For the time being, I'm happy, but I'm afraid of 1992," said Abdul=20
Sabor, a shopkeeper. "I still have that picture in my mind. . . . In=20
'92, we were happy. The mujaheddin were good people. But they started=20
looting and raping and having factions fighting with each other."

"Send a message all over the world: Afghanistan and especially Kabul=20
needs an international peacekeeping force," said Temor Shah, 35, who=20
works in the government's civil aviation department. "Look," he said,=20
pointing to a truckload of boisterous soldiers driving by in the back=20
of a truck, shouting with their rifles thrust in the air. "We have=20
all these different armed people all over the city."

For the most part, the Northern Alliance's entry into the city today=20
was more orderly than it was nine years ago, when the same factions=20
clambered to power after defeating the Soviet-backed Najibullah=20
government. Soldiers took up positions around government buildings,=20
tanks moved into position at the presidential palace and checkpoints=20
were thrown up at intersections, where troops in camouflage uniforms=20
searched cars.

A leaflet was distributed in the central market, signed by the Kabul=20
Security Commission, telling citizens that the Northern Alliance=20
"with the grace of God has the honor to conquer Kabul city from the=20
Taliban and the foreign invaders."

"The Northern Alliance is in Kabul to help you, to provide security=20
to you," the leaflet read. "There is no discrimination from the=20
Northern Alliance in terms of language, color, tribe, nationality or=20
other reasons." It continued, "We urge all of you to resume your=20
normal lives. If you are a shopkeeper, go to your shop. If you are a=20
government worker, go to your office."

Perhaps to allay concerns that Kabul's new rulers might seek reprisal=20
against those who cooperated with the Taliban, the leaflet said,=20
"Everybody is forgiven, Taliban or anyone else, as long as he doesn't=20
resist the mujaheddin."

After a sense of amazement and celebration in the morning -- crowds=20
standing in the streets, cheering truckloads of soldiers and shouting=20
"thank you!" to foreign journalists -- there were some signs of a=20
return to normalcy. The marketplace, which was closed in the morning,=20
came to life in the late afternoon. Traffic returned to city streets.

Crowds gathered in knots at several places. Usually, they were=20
looking at the mangled bodies of Pakistani and Arab fighters lying=20
uncovered. At the Shar-e-Naw park, seven bodies were strewn on the=20
grass and in ditches: Pakistani fighters, the bystanders said, who=20
failed to get word of the Taliban retreat and were left this morning=20
to face the hostile crowd.

One was lying on his back beneath a basketball net, his black tennis=20
shoes next to his chest. Witnesses said he was firing an AK-47=20
assault rifle from a tree when he was shot and killed. Another wore=20
an olive green shirt and his face was covered with spit. Many of the=20
young volunteer fighters who were killed looked too young to shave.

Onlookers converged to vent their rage. "I was really scared to see=20
dead bodies before," said Faisal Khan, 25. "But now I'm happy to see=20
these Arabs."

There was, though, a festive mood that lingered long after the=20
initial shock of the Taliban's sudden exit. Buses with passengers=20
piled on the rooftops honked their horns and the passengers waved. As=20
one truckload of soldiers passed a crowded street, bystanders erupted=20
into a chant of "Death to the Taliban! Long live the Northern=20
Alliance!"

Merajuddin, 30, a taxi driver, used the occasion to turn his car's=20
cassette player up full blast, playing his favorite Afghan songs at=20
ear-piercing volume with the windows rolled down. He had kept the=20
cassette hidden at home for five years, only listening to it at night=20
at low volume, because the Taliban had banned music. In his taxi, the=20
only cassettes he had listened to were the speeches of Islamic=20
mullahs.

The city showed the obvious scars of decades of civil strife -- and=20
the more recent signs of more than five weeks of bombardment by U.S.=20
warplanes. In the Macroroyn neighborhood, a gaping crater was=20
evidence of an U.S. bomb that went astray. It apparently had been=20
aimed at a Taliban air defense headquarters about 100 yards away, but=20
instead landed near an apartment building. Bystanders said it injured=20
three people, including a small girl, and damaged a water main.

Nearby in the same neighborhood, a bomb aimed at an army radio=20
communications facility fell wide of the mark and slammed into the=20
wall of an apartment building, leaving a crater next to the building=20
and collapsing a portion of one wall. Neighbors said a girl about 6=20
years old was killed when she was hit by flying concrete while=20
playing.

At Kabul's international airport, Haji Haroon, who was put in charge=20
of reopening the facility for traffic, was busy inspecting damage=20
from U.S. warplanes. Haroon was chief of the airport the last time=20
Northern Alliance factions ruled Afghanistan, from 1992 until 1996.=20
He arrived here at noon from the Panjshir Valley and took a reporter=20
on a tour of the facility.

"I promise, within 48 hours, we can make the airport operational,"=20
Haroon said. "Of course there has been some damage, but we can repair=20
it."

Two bombs hit the runway, but it did not appear to be severely=20
damaged. The control tower was littered with debris from glass that=20
had blown out. And on the side of the airport used by the Taliban=20
military sat the remains of a MiG fighter jet, a transport plane and=20
two helicopters.

The old U.S. Embassy was still standing, although an adjacent section=20
used as a parking area and a kitchen had been looted and burned.

The 702 unit of the Northern Alliance's national guard arrived in=20
Kabul at 8 a.m. and quickly moved to secure the facility.

"I don't believe I'm in Kabul," said Col. Shir Padcha, a soldier=20
guarding the embassy compound. "Sometimes I think I'm dreaming."

Returning to Kabul was also like a dream for Abdul Naser, a young=20
Northern Alliance soldier guarding the airport. He was caught here in=20
1996 when the Taliban took over and spent 2 1/2 years as a prisoner=20
of war until being released in a prisoner swap with six others.

"I'm very happy I chased the enemy out of my country's capital," he=20
said. "Everybody knows these were international terrorists. These=20
Taliban are dogs!" Then he added, "I'm sorry I abused the dogs,=20
because a dog is a very faithful animal."

=A9 2001 The Washington Post Company

______

#2.

RAWA's appeal to the UN and World community

The people of Afghanistan do not accept domination of the Northern Alliance=
!

Now it is confirmed that the Taliban have left Kabul and the Northern=20
Alliance has entered the city.

The world should understand that the Northern Alliance is composed of=20
some bands who did show their real criminal and inhuman nature when=20
they were ruling Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996.

The retreat of the terrorist Taliban from Kabul is a positive=20
development, but entering of the rapist and looter NA in the city is=20
nothing but a dreadful and shocking news for about 2 million=20
residents of Kabul whose wounds of the years 1992-96 have not healed=20
yet.

Thousands of people who fled Kabul during the past two months were=20
saying that they feared coming to power of the NA in Kabul much more=20
than being scared by the US bombing.

The Taliban and Al-Qaeda will be eliminated, but the existence of the=20
NA as a military force would shatter the joyful dream of the majority=20
for an Afghanistan free from the odious chains of barbaric Taliban.=20
The NA will horribly intensify the ethnic and religious conflicts and=20
will never refrain to fan the fire of another brutal and endless=20
civil war in order to retain in power. The terrible news of looting=20
and inhuman massacre of the captured Taliban or their foreign=20
accomplices in Mazar-e-Sharif in past few days speaks for itself.

Though the NA has learned how to pose sometimes before the West as=20
"democratic" and even supporter of women's rights, but in fact they=20
have not at all changed, as a leopard cannot change its spots.

RAWA has already documented heinous crimes of the NA. Time is running=20
out. RAWA on its own part appeals to the UN and world community as a=20
whole to pay urgent and considerable heed to the recent developments=20
in our ill-fated Afghanistan before it is too late.

We would like to emphatically ask the UN to send its effective=20
peace-keeping force into the country before the NA can repeat the=20
unforgettable crimes they committed in the said years.

The UN should withdraw its recognition to the so-called Islamic=20
government headed by Rabbani and help the establishment of a=20
broad-based government based on the democratic values.

RAWA's call stems from the aspirations of the vast majority of the=20
people of Afghanistan.

Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
November 13, 2001

______

#3.

>Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 15:15:16 +0000
>From: WLUML <wluml@w...>
>Subject: Urgent Action Alert: include Afghan women in transition processes
>
>Dear friends,
>
>Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) has been trying to ensure=20
>that the voices of Afghan women are heard by as broad an audience as=20
>possible. We are doing this by making available their understanding=20
>and articulation, as women, of what is happening, the impact that=20
>this is having and their demands.
>
>WLUML believes that international efforts for the reconstruction of=20
>Afghanistan must promote a process guided by the Afghan people.=20
>Afghan women are half of the Afghan people-a fact too often and too=20
>easily forgotten. It is not enough to call merely for the=20
>representation of various ethnic communities and/or factions in the=20
>decision making and transition processes around Afghanistan. The=20
>presence of Afghan civil society, most particularly women, at the=20
>negotiation table and decision making of any peace process is vital.
>
>More than fifty Afghan women from different NGOs and organisations=20
>met at the call of the Afghan Women's Network on 7 November 2001 in=20
>Peshawar, Pakistan. We attach below the appeal they drafted=20
>addressed to the concerned warring parties and countries. They would=20
>like the endorsement and support of other organisations for the=20
>demands in the appeal.
>
>We call upon the UN, that is better-positioned than any other=20
>entity, to support and facilitate Afghan women's involvement in the=20
>decision-making and transition processes in the coming months. We=20
>appreciate that the Special Representative of the Secretary General=20
>for Afghanistan, Mr Lakhdar Brahimi, has been specifically=20
>interacting with Afghan women's groups to discuss ways of including=20
>women in the transition processes led by the UN.
>
>We therefore urge you to endorse the statement and write to the=20
>following people involved in the UN transition and peace processes.
>
>In solidarity,
>
>WLUML
>
>-- 7 November, 2001
>
>For more then two decades the Afghan nation has been passing through=20
>the most difficult experiences of war, human rights violations and=20
>brutality. While we struggle to survive, we are scared for life,=20
>losing our dear ones, seeing our children traumatized, our neighbors=20
>killed, our husbands disabled by a war fought under different=20
>banners but yet with the same tragic consequences. In whatever name=20
>the war might be fought, jihad, justice, terrorism etc. We ask you=20
>to stop it.
>
>The waging and continuation of the war affects us more deeply every=20
>passing day by hearing that someone else has been added to the list=20
>of victims.
>
>Perhaps a million Afghans are in movement facing closed borders, a=20
>hostile reception and already jammed camps with the most miserable=20
>conditions of life.
>
>Stop this war in the name of the Afghan child, the Afghan mother and=20
>a nation who have sacrificed more than enough. The continuation of=20
>war will not only be adding to the existing misery of the Afghan=20
>nation, but will hinder the chances of a peaceful solution in the=20
>future. We call upon the international community and the countries=20
>and groups involved in this war to support us by listening to us and=20
>ensuring our rights as citizens of the world are respected. Help us=20
>in seeking our right to survival.
>
>We request the following:
>
>* The military action in Afghanistan be stopped immediately.
>
>* The anti-terrorism campaign should not be fought at the expense of=20
>restricting or violating human rights of Afghans. It should be dealt=20
>with in accordance with international law and procedures by an=20
>international tribunal.
>
>* The neighboring countries of Afghanistan should open their borders=20
>to Afghan families fleeing the war.
>
>* Afghans should be supported in the peace process and nation=20
>building effort in such a way, which ensures the respect of its=20
>diverse ethnic groups and religious sects, women and children.
>
>* Afghan women's participation in the peace process must be assured.
>WRITE TO:
>
>Lakhdar Brahimi
>Special Representative of the Secretary General for Afghanistan
>Tel: +1 212 963 1386
>Fax: +1 212 963 0616
>
>Kamal Hossain
>UN Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan
>Fax: +880 29564953
>Email: khossain@c...
>
>Carolyn McAskie
>Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator
>Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
>Fax: +1 212 963 1312
>
>The office of Hina Jilani, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights
>Defenders
>Martine Anstett
>Email: manstett.hchr@u...
>
>The office of Asma Jahangir, UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Killi=
ngs
>Henrik Stenman
>Email: Hstenman.hchr@u...

>WLUML - international solidarity network
>Email: wluml@w...
>WWW: www.wluml.org

______

#4.

DECLARATION OF THE ESSENTIAL RIGHTS OF AFGHAN WOMEN
Douchanb=E9, Tadjikistan, June 28, 2000

Section 1
Considering that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well=20
as the international statements addressing the rights of women listed=20
in Section II of this document,, are systematically trampled in=20
Afghanistan today.
Considering that all the rules imposed by the Taliban concerning=20
women are in total opposition to the international conventions cited=20
in Section II of this document.
Considering that torture and inhumane and degrading treatment imposed=20
by the Taliban on women, as active members of society, have put=20
Afghan society in danger.
Considering that the daily violence directed against the women of=20
Afghanistan causes, for each one of them, a state of profound=20
distress.
Considering that, under conditions devoid of their rights, women find=20
themselves and their children in a situation of permanent danger.
Considering that discrimination on the basis of gender, race,=20
religion, ethnicity and language is the source of insults, beatings,=20
stoning and other forms of violence.
Considering that poverty and the lack of freedom of movement pushes=20
women into prostitution, involuntary exile, forced marriages, and the=20
selling and trafficking of their daughters.Considering the severe and=20
tragic conditions of more than twenty years of war in Afghanistan.
Section 2
The Declaration which follows is derived from the following documents :

- United Nations Charter.
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
- Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Wome=
n.
- Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
- The Human Rights of Women.
- The Beijing Declaration.
- The Afghan Constitution of 1964.
- The Afghan Constitution of 1977.

Section 3

The fundamental right of Afghan women, as for all human beings, is=20
life with dignity, which includes the following rights :
1- The right to equality between men and women and the right to the=20
elimination of all forms of discrimination an segregation, based on=20
gender, race or religion.
2- The right to personal safety and to freedom from torture or=20
inhumane or degrading treatment.
3- The right to physical and mental health for women and their children.
4- The right to equal protection under the law.
5- The right to institutional education in all the intellectual and=20
physical disciplines.
6- The right to just and favorable conditions of work.
7- The right to move about freely and independently.
8- The right to freedom of thought, speech, assembly and political=20
participation.
9- The right to wear or not to wear the veil or the chadri.
10- The right to participate in cultural activities including=20
theatre, music and sports.

Section 4

This Declaration developed by Afghan women is a statement,=20
affirmation and emphasis of those essential rights that we Afghan=20
women own for ourselves and for all other Afghan women. It is a=20
document that the State of Afghanistan must respect and implement.
This document, at this moment in time, is a draft that, in the course=20
of time, will be amended and completed by Afghan women.

Info and send support statement to:
NEGAR-SUPPORT OF WOMEN OF AFGHANISTAN
BP 10, 25770 FRANOIS, FRANCE
Tel./Fax: (33) 01 48 35 07 56 or (33) 03 81 59 04 39
E-Mail: negar@w...

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT
for the
DECLARATION OF THE ESSENTIAL RIGHTS OF AFGHAN WOMEN

The most extreme violation of human rights in the world has been=20
vigorously put in place by official decree in Afghanistan under the=20
control of the Taliban. For nearly 20 years, the condition of women=92s=20
existence in Afghanistan has been degraded; since 1994, however, the=20
regime of the Taliban militia has officially taken away from women=20
the right to education, to work, to health, as well as freedom of=20
movement, rendering them practically prisoners in their homes, in the=20
most extreme situation of material and moral destitution.
On 28 June 2000, several hundred Afghan women from all segments of=20
the Afghan nation, assembled in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to write and=20
promulgate a =93Declaration of the Essential Rights of Afghan women=94.

The Dushanbe conference was organized at the initiative of=20
NEGAR-SUPPORT OF WOMEN OF AFGHANISTAN, an international organization=20
established in 1996 by Afghan women to defend their rights. The=20
members of NEGAR are Afghan women and non-Afghan women supporters.

With this Declaration, the Afghan women affirm and demand for=20
themselves the rights which had been assured for them by the=20
Constitution of Afghanistan of 1977, as well as the rights assured=20
for all women by numerous international conventions and declarations.=20
The Afghan women reject the false assertions of the Taliban militia=20
that these rights are in contradiction with the religion, culture and=20
traditions of Afghan society and nation.

We request that YOU do all in your power to intervene with your own=20
political representatives as well as international political groups=20
to persuade the American government, United Nations, international=20
organizations, and all other concerned parties :

1 To integrate this Declaration as a part of the process for a just,=20
honorable and durable peace for an Afghanistan which must be=20
independent and free from all sort of racism.
We believe that only by this means future tragedies will be avoided.

2 To exert pressure on Pakistan whose military, political, and=20
financial support renders the Taliban regime possible.

3 To continue to deny recognition of the Taliban.

Recent history has demonstrated that supremacist and dictatorial=20
regimes such as the Taliban maintain themselves in power only if the=20
rest of the world remains silent.

Do not allow your silence to permit this human rights tragedy to=20
cause further destruction!

______

#5.

No one should go by their tolerance of music and shaven cheeks
in Kabul. The Northern Alliance includes Mullahs as great bigots as the
Taliban are, minus a few excesses

M.B. Naqvi

Karachi Nov 14:

The latest spectacle in the Afghan kaleidoscope shows the collapse of
formal Taliban resistance to the Northern Alliance in the northern parts
of the country, with Kabul, Jalalabad and Herat falling like nine pins.
Some think that it is the final end of the Taliban chapter in Afghan
history insofar as formal governments are concerned. How much
resistance is left in them is controversial depending on the observer=92s
perspective and preferences.

There are conservatives in Pakistan who take a different view of the
recent turn of events. The strong pro-Taliban lobby among them is still
putting up a brave face, saying that Taliban have changed their
strategy: they will now fight a guerilla war in the mountains and rural
areas against whoever rules next. Sober elements concede that Taliban=92s
ability to defend against forces supported by the US and the rest of the
Coalition constantly bombarding from the air was small. Taliban were at
the end of their tether. They recall the various forays by the British
in 1920s and 1930s in the tribal areas along Durand Line using their
earliest small aircrafts from which bombs were dropped manually. The
tribesmen, famed fighters otherwise, used to scream and run at the sight
of an aircraft. The Afghan fighters still cannot bear aerial bombardment
against which their small arms are useless. Thus, the conclusion drawn
is that Taliban resistance has actually folded up and they are a part of
history.

Pakistan government=92s constant retreat from its initial pro-Taliban
stance continues. None of the Pakistan=92s successive demands or
recommendations were ever heeded by the US, the latest being the public
endorsement by US President of the plea by President Pervez Musharraf
that the Northern Alliance should not enter Kabul. The US however
winked and the Northern Alliance entered Kabul.

The UN has sort of scrambled and is continuously in huddles over what to
do. The US government is determinedly going its own way; it takes
notice of UN in much the same fashion as it takes Pakistan=92s
recommendations. Kabul is now the seat of a new power: Northern Alliance
whose strings will, on significant matters, be pulled by the US. It is
possible the US at some stage may want to benefit from the advice of
some of its allies like Britain and Russia, may be even India. But one
thing they will not do is to implement Pakistan=92s wishes --- that at
bottom amount to slipping in a few camouflaged Taliban in the new
government to be nominated ultimately by the US. The fact is that the UN
formulas under discussion are a relatively long haul affair. Northern
Alliance has filled a vacuum and meantime would go on ruling Kabul ---
and theoretically Afghanistan.

Pakistan has now called for Kabul to be handed over to the UN which
should call a Loya Jirga --- a grand assembly of tribal elders and
warlords ---- which would hopefully produce a broad-based government
chosen by the Afghans representing all their ethnicities. There is now a
consensus in the Coalition that a broad-based government is what
Afghanistan needs and its modalities would require the symbolic
sponsorship of ex-King Zahir Shah for the Loya Jirga to meet and produce
the desired results. But the one fact ignored by the Coalition members
is that in this largely hypothetical arrangement the chances of
breakdown are to be found at its various time-consuming stages.
Meantime, what would be the position in the governmentless Afghanistan?
Northern Alliance has become the new rulers --- at least until the time
they remain a united force.

Who are the Northern Alliance? They are, originally, a bunch of
Pakistan sponsored warlords. British newspaper Guardian has done a fine
job of describing this group=92s depredations in early 1990s ---
wide-scale pillage, rapine and mass murders --- and some of it has been
repeated in the cities now taken by them. This is what the Taliban had
originally done when they took over ( except mass rapes). This is also
what Taliban have now done just before retreating from Bamiyan, a
minority Shia sect area, leaving behind just rubble and countless dead
bodies. No one should go by their tolerance of music and shaven cheeks
in Kabul. The Northern Alliance includes Mullahs as great bigots as the
Taliban are, minus a few excesses.

It is hazardous to disagree with such a international consensus about
Loya Jirga and Zahir Shah=92s role, based on the view of many well-meaning
Afghans and a plethora of western experts on Afghanistan. Changing times
however bring changes even in Afghan minds alongwith radical changes on
the ground. The experience of the last 40 years has shown that the old
certainties of tribal culture, with its expectations and obligations,
cannot remain the same as they were in Zahir Shah=92s days over 28 years
ago. Loya Jirga, if it can be convened, would, this time round, might
not be able to perform its traditional magic of producing a consensus
which all Afghans would accept. There are far too many interests and
bitter rivalries among armed Afghan factions. The likelihood is that
these Afghan factions might remain bitterly divided and civil war among
these factions and ethnicities might continue. Foreign sponsorship of
some factions is an additional reason why consensus might continue to
elude.

Up to a point, one position advanced by Islamabad should be acceptable
to the rest of the world if, by any chance, welfare of the Afghans is in
anyone=92s calculations, including the desire to maintain Afghanistan=92s
unity and integrity as a state: It is to ask the UN to takeover Kabul
and administer it for an interim period through an international
peacekeeping force during which the UN produces a broad-based government
that represents all Afghan ethnicities. Which is where Pakistan
government=92s recommendation ends. According to Pakistan Foreign Office,
as soon as the UN produces the desired baby of a broad-based,
multi-ethnic and representative government, the UN and international
peacekeepers should quit.

The trouble about this formula is that it comprises meaningless words in
the given situation. Five different powers would produce five different
multi-ethnic governments, none of which might be a representative of the
common Afghans within the respective ethnicity. According to this
formula, it will be OK if their favoured four or six Pushtoon Ministers
are included. But which Pushtoon would they be: who would nominate them;
whom would they represent; there is apparently no criteria for
selecting a minister from a given ethnicity except either his own
militia=92s fire power or his ability to find a sponsor among major
powers. The formula is a mirage; there is no point chasing it.

The only way for the outside world to safely walk out of Afghan
quagmire is to recreate an Afghanistan, not for the benefit of one or
another power but for Afghans=92 self fulfillment, and to ask the UN to
takeover the whole country for a given numbers of years , say five to
seven. In this period of trusteeship on UN General Assembly=92s
authority. Islamabad be run by international administrators and peace
enforcers drawn from small third-world countries and small European
ones, with no person taken from major powers, least of all from
Afghanistan=92s neighbourhood, for creating a neutral administration so
as to pick up the pieces. There has to be a crash programme of
demining, rebuilding the infrastructure, holding a comprehensive
economic and demographic census, granting freedoms to all Afghans after
disarming them, allowing them to engage in free speech and form
associations and parties and running Afghanistan in freedom after
kickstarting the economy. The state should remain demilitarised and
neutral during this whole period. Towards the end, a free election
should be held and power transferred to the elected assembly. The UN
should then quit and the world can hope for the best.=20

______

#6.

The Independent (UK)
14 November 2001 21:15 GMT

Fleeing Taliban pile the pressure on Musharraf
War on terrorism: Pakistan
By Peter Popham in Peshawar

15 November 2001

The President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, flew home with=20
the plaudits of the West still ringing in his ears, but facing the=20
biggest mess a Pakistani leader has had to contend with for many=20
years.

Until Monday night, General Musharraf was the big winner in the=20
latest Afghan war: the shunned military dictator whose quick decision=20
to support the war on terror led first to the removal of sanctions,=20
then to visits from Western leaders including Tony Blair and the US=20
Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and finally to the accolade of=20
addressing a joint session of the Houses of Parliament in London.

The gains remain and are unlikely to be whisked away from under his nose.

But now that Kabul and most other parts of Afghanistan have fallen to=20
the Northern Alliance, they are overshadowed by stark new perils.

The fall of Jalalabad yesterday, 50 miles from the Pakistan border,=20
and American bombing raids on a military base at Khost, only six=20
miles from the border, underline the most immediate new menace: the=20
war is coming closer.

American jets thunder through the skies above Peshawar in Pakistan=20
from morning to night these days. So common a sight have they become=20
that no one casts a glance at them. No longer interested in Kabul and=20
points north, the bombers' focus is ever more tightly on the rugged=20
borderlands, which are the most logical and familiar redoubt for the=20
fleeing Taliban.

Last night Pakistani intelligence sources reported that, once the=20
Northern Alliance's advance was under way, many Taliban leaders sent=20
their families across the border into Pakistan where they would be=20
under the protection of Pashtun tribal leaders. With almost the=20
entire Taliban force now apparently in full flight, the movement's=20
leaders and fighters are themselves said by local sources to be=20
moving in the same direction.

Pakistan has never exercised tight control of these forbidding tribal=20
lands on the Afghan border, where real political power remains with=20
tribal leaders. In many of these places, support for the Taliban=20
remains huge and visceral. Rumours circulated in Peshawar yesterday=20
that Mullah Omar himself was already in Pakistan.

General Musharraf has made it plain that the Taliban are not welcome.=20
At a press conference in Istanbul on Tuesday with Turkey's Prime=20
Minister, Bulent Ecevit, he said they would "not be allowed" inside=20
Pakistan. But, as he and his corps commanders know all too well, the=20
long border is unfenced and highly porous. They can arrive and melt=20
into the hills without his permission.

With the Northern Alliance's triumph in northern Afghanistan,=20
Pakistan has reverted overnight from its status as the West's brave=20
and indispensable ally to being part of the problem.

America will soon have alternatives inside Afghanistan to the=20
Pakistani airfields it has been using for logistical support for the=20
air strikes.

Diplomatically, too, the boot is on the other foot. Pakistan now=20
confronts the certainty of Burhanuddin Rabbani, head of the Northern=20
Alliance, reclaiming the title of President of Afghanistan which the=20
United Nations and many countries, including Britain, recognised=20
throughout his long years of exile in northern Afghanistan. Pakistan=20
was the only country among Afghanistan's neighbours to snub Mr=20
Rabbani and recognise the Taliban as the country's legitimate rulers.

Likewise Pakistan's intelligence services are said to have snubbed=20
all advances from the countries to the north.

As a result Pakistan can expect no favours from Afghanistan's new=20
government. The notion that Pakistani troops might be part of a=20
multinational force in the country has been fiercely rejected by the=20
Northern Alliance.

The only way that General Musharraf can hope to recoup some of the=20
catastrophic losses over the past few days is by taking a vigorous=20
stand against any retreating Taliban. But this is not an easy option.

As a Pakistani newspaper, The News, put it in an editorial yesterday:=20
"Thousands of armed, desperate fighters, who have always seen=20
Pakistan as their ultimate destination, will have to be stopped and=20
confronted ... Pakistan's security agencies, and even the army, will=20
have to be prepared to fight the returning Taliban and this could=20
turn into a messy situation if casualties mount."

By proving his sincerity to Western leaders this way, General=20
Musharraf would incur appalling domestic risks. One reason Pakistan=20
ended up sponsoring the Taliban was to keep its own fundamentalists=20
busy on foreign soil, to minimise the trouble they cause at home. Now=20
they are all streaming back. The extremists have never got a grip on=20
the loyalties of the mass of Pakistanis, but many organs of the=20
state, including the intelligence and nuclear establishments, have=20
long been infested with their sympathisers.

If Afghanistan's war is heading towards a close, General Musharraf's=20
woes are only just beginning.

______

#7.

Time Magazine
Nov. 19, 2001

The War/The Pashtun
Deep Loyalties, Ancient Hatreds
BY TIM MCGIRK/ISLAMABAD

Monday, Nov. 19, 2001
When the front line around Mazar-i-Sharif burst under relentless U.S.=20
bombing, the retreating Taliban fighters knew there was only one=20
option: to run fast and far. Retreating into Mazar-i-Sharif's maze of=20
dusty alleys was certain death; the Taliban had made too many=20
enemies. During its three-year rule of Mazar-i-Sharif, the Taliban,=20
who belong to the Pashtun tribes of southern Afghanistan, had=20
mercilessly persecuted the Uzbek and Hazara ethnic minorities. After=20
the city fell, they hauled up guns hidden under the floorboards and=20
took revenge as the Taliban forces fled in disarray. "From the=20
houses, the Uzbeks were picking off the Taliban stragglers," said an=20
Islamabad-based aid worker in contact with the northern Afghan city.

The fall of Mazar-i-Sharif may be a heartening victory for the=20
U.S.-backed Northern Alliance, but it has sharpened the ancient feuds=20
that bedevil Afghanistan. The Pashtun--a group of tribes that=20
accounts for about 40% of the country's 26 million people--are almost=20
sure to rally behind the Taliban, since America is now seen as=20
backing the Pashtun's worst enemies. The Pashtun have ruled=20
Afghanistan since the 18th century, and their will to fight may be=20
steeled by the specter of marauding Northern Alliance troops--made up=20
of Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras-- attacking with U.S. warplanes in the=20
skies above. Fearing reprisals, Pashtun families have been fleeing=20
the north.
[...].
------
Full Text at :=20
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101011119-183964,00.html

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