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[ English Section ] [ Feedback ] Published in issue #459 on 5 February 2001
Loya Jirga, inside Afghanistan in six monthsTranslated excerpts from an Omaid Weekly interview published in last week’s Dari-Persian section. Dr. Sayed M. Raheen, who is a member of the central Executive Committee of the Loya Jirga (Grand National Assembly) initiative of former Afghan king Mohammad Zahir Shah, recently returned from Rome after participating in a meeting of the Loya Jirga Decision Making Committee. The Loya Jirga and the resolutions of the Decision Making Committee were the topics of Omaid Weekly’s interview with Dr. Raheen, who is also chairman of the Association for Peace and Democracy for Afghanistan, the premier Afghan political organization in the West: Omaid Weekly: Please tell us about last week’s meeting of the Decision Making Committee for an Emergency Loya Jirga. Dr. Raheen: The meeting of the Decision Making Committee lasted for two intensive days. The meeting involved deliberations on the findings of the various Loya Jirga delegations that traveled inside Afghanistan and visited other countries for the purpose of presenting the goals and objectives of this initiative. Afterwards, discussions focused on the date and location of the Loya Jirga. It was determined that, God willing, the Loya Jirga of the people of Afghanistan will be convened within the next six months inside Afghanistan. OW: Did the Committee choose a specific location? DR: Of course, the most suitable location is the city of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. Should that not be feasible, it will be convened in any other practicable area inside Afghanistan. OW: Is it not likely that the enemies of Afghanistan will attempt sabotage — and if necessary, by the use of force? DR: This is where the United Nations, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and peace-loving nations can play an important role. If the world complains that Afghanistan is a hub of terrorism and the illicit drug trade, and that fighting in this country poses a threat to regional stability and even global security, then this is the perfect opportunity for them to help the nation of Afghanistan achieve an equitable peace. The establishment of a peace that is respectful of the will of the people of Afghanistan, and the creation of a government chosen by the people, will leave no room for terrorism or narcotics traffickers. Before the current turmoil, our nation was not even familiar with terrorism or the narcotics business. And the establishment of a peace that respects the will of the people of Afghanistan is the only answer to combating them. Otherwise, any alternative option — whether firing rockets on Afghanistan, implementing economic sanctions, or other means — used to fight these evils is fruitless. OW: What plans are there for inviting participants for the Grand National Assembly? How will members of the Loya Jirga be chosen? DR: Members of the Loya Jirga will include both elected and appointed individuals. Due to the conflict, members from inside Afghanistan will be selected in consultation with provincial and regional elders and leaders. A list of such individuals will be drafted and provided to the Overseeing Committee on the Election and Selection of Members of the Loya Jirga, which was newly formed during this last meeting of the Decision Making Committee. Working with those groups who have lent support to the Loya Jirga, the Overseeing Committee, which will include individuals from these groups, will select Loya Jirga members from the submitted list. With regard to expatriate Afghans, who number over 5 million and the majority of whom reside in Iran and Pakistan, members from among them will be elected vis-à-vis a completely democratic mechanism, that is, through the ballot box. Members will be voted on via supervised elections, and of course, UN election monitors will be essential. OW: Afghans living in the West will also have representatives? DR: Yes. Afghans in every city and country will elect members [of the Loya Jirga] proportionate to their [local] population. OW: Isn’t this a monumental proposition? DR: There are no major obstacles [for the process] outside of Afghanistan [and the region]. In the neighboring countries, however, we will require the assistance of interested nations and the UN. But, in the West and similar regions, if we are not able to carry out a democratic process and respect the ballot system in a peaceful and secure environment, then how are we to expect to do anything in the future inside Afghanistan with all of the problems that will still face the nation? OW: If the Taliban militia, who currently occupy most of the country, continue to reject the Loya Jirga, what then? DR: Right now, another meeting with them is planned. They too, or at least some of them, will one day bow to the will of the nation. OW: Are you optimistic about the success of this initiative? DR: Yes. [The Loya Jirga] is the only way to achieve the will of the people. It’s the only way to conclusively end the bloodletting of our country and preserve our nation’s honor. I firmly believe in our nation’s ultimate victory. Details of Pak Army deployments in AfghanistanExcerpts from a 23 January 2001 letter from Dr. Abdullah, Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, to the president of the UN Security Council. Following the convening of the meeting in Akora Khattak, Pakistan, on 10 January 2001 of the Pakistan-based extremist groups, advocating maximized military support of Pakistan to the Taliban-Osama coalition, and defying the UN sanctions against the militia, the Pakistani military junta has brought in new military forces in northern Afghanistan. Reports gathered recently by the security services of the Islamic State of Afghanistan indicate that since 12 January 2001, a number of new commando and artillery units of the Pakistan Army have been deployed in northern Afghanistan, in preparation for foreseeable attacks on the government forces. According to the reports, in a sweeping move, preceding the deadline of the imposition of the new UN sanctions against the Taliban mercenaries, Pakistan army officers and units have recently been posted to Afghanistan as follows:
According to the reports, Pakistani forces have joined scores of heavily armed militants from the Osama bin Laden Al-Qaeda terrorist network and a sizable number of Taliban mercenaries, already poised to attack territories across the Kokcha River on the border of Badakhshan Province in the north-east. An attack by the Pakistan-Taliban-Osama forces on 12 January, targeting Khoja-Ghar, Dasht-e-Qala and Ay Khanum along the same area was beaten back fiercely by the government troops, with as many as 200 Taliban dead and heavy material losses. The convening of the Akora Khattak meeting in the broad daylight by as many as 30 militant groups, protected by hundreds of heavily armed guards of their own, while martial law by the military Government of Pakistan remains in effect throughout the country, among other things, serves as ample proof that the gathering was orchestrated by the Pakistani Government aimed at intensifying and prolonging the war in Afghanistan and yet misleading the international community. The gathering, attended by top-ranking officers of the Pakistani ISI, such as General (retired) Hamid Gul, former Chief of the military intelligence services and General Aslam Beg of the Pakistan Army, starkly unravels Pakistan's un-Islamic exploitation of religion for its unholy military and political hegemonic purposes, while bringing to light the treacherous and bogus preaching of the Pakistani political and military establishment concerning the "negative impacts of the UN sanctions on the civilian population of Afghanistan". The current surge in Pakistan military involvement in Afghanistan clearly manifests Pakistan's belligerence against the UN Security Council resolution, that, inter alia, calls for an embargo on provision of arms and military aid to the Taliban, immediate withdrawal of foreign military personnel form Afghanistan and closure of all terrorist training camps inside Afghanistan. *From this week's English-language page
of the hard-copy edition of
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