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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: maceng2 who wrote (8552)	11/1/2001 6:24:24 PM
From: maceng2	Respond to of 281500

Key commander 'escapes Taleban' A prominent supporter of the former Afghan king says his forces have begun fighting the Taleban in an area north of Kandahar. Hamid Karzai - a highly influential Pashtun tribal leader - slipped over the border a few weeks ago in an attempt to rally support for the king's proposals for a loya jirga or grand assembly of Afghans to choose a future government for the country. Another supporter of the king, Commander Abdul Haq, was killed by the Taleban while on a similar mission inside Afghanistan. Press reports had suggested that Mr Karzai suffered a similar fate, as the Taleban have warned that they will kill any envoy of the king found on their territory. But speaking to the BBC from the mountains of Uruzgan province north of Kandahar, Mr Karzai confirmed that he was safe and well. He and his forces had been surrounded by Taleban troops, but had managed to fight them off. Mr Karzai aded that he had been joined by other Pashtun tribal leaders. One of them - Mahalem Abdul Ghader - also spoke to the BBC. Mr Ghader said their joint forces had begun fighting the Taleban earlier in the day and said they had captured 12 Taleban soldiers. He said that he and many of his fellow tribesman wanted to get rid of Osama Bin Laden and his allies in Afghanistan and bring peace to the country. There has been no independent confirmation of the two leaders' claims. Influential It is not clear how many fighters might be backing Mr Karzai but there is no doubt that he is a highly influential figure. He comes from the same clan as the former Afghan king and is a powerful Pashtun tribal leader in his own right. He is well educated and speaks English fluently. He served as a deputy foreign minister in Afghanistan's first mujaheddin government in 1992. When the Taleban erupted onto Afghanistan's political scene in the early 1990s, Mr Karzai initially supported them. However, by late 1994 he had become suspicious of the movement, fearing it had been taken over by people under the control of Pakistan. Recently he has been one of the Taleban's most outspoken critics. After the death of Haq, he is regarded as one of the royalist camp's best hopes for rallying support. If his account of recent events proves to be correct and if he is able to attract sufficient numbers of fighters to support him, this could represent the opening up of a new front in the fight against the Taleban. news.bbc.co.uk