Afghan Northern Alliance Flexible on Power-Sharing & Deployment of Multi-international Force

19/05/2001| IslamWeb

BONN, Germany (Islamweb & News Agencies) - After agreeing in principal to share power with rival factions, Afghanistan's militarily dominant Northern Alliance seeks to nail down details of a post-Taliban government in detailed talks on Thursday.
On Wednesday night, the Northern Alliance, which controls most of Afghanistan, agreed to broad outlines of a mechanism to share power with supporters of the former king, officials on both sides said.
The proposed accord, which would be the first concrete step toward a wider agreement on a broad-based government made at U.N.-sponsored talks in Bonn, came after a day of official warnings not to expect much progress.
The Northern Alliance is holding intensive talks with backers of Afghanistan's former King Zahir Shah and two other Afghan exile groups aimed at agreeing on a post-Taliban power structure in the impoverished country.
``They have agreed to set up a temporary council, but the mechanism for its creation will be discussed tomorrow (Thursday),'' a top aide to the head of the Northern Alliance delegation, Yunis Qanuni, told Reuters late on Wednesday night.
``What will be discussed is how many people should be in it and who should be in the council,'' he said.
The faction may agree on related details on Thursday, he said. Others say that exactly those points could prove divisive, and foreign experts say Afghan politics remain very unpredictable.
The council would be an appointed legislature empowered to name an interim executive to run the country for several months. Diplomats hope such an interim authority would pave the way for elections in about two years.