Taliban find unlikely allies


	March 12, 2002	atimes.com

Central Asia/Russia

Taliban find unlikely allies
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - With fighting in the eastern Afghanistan region of Gardez in Paktia province well into its second week as United States and allied troops hunt down pockets of al-Qaeda and Taliban resistance, the ground realities in the country are rapidly changing.

Signals are emerging that an anti-US alliance comprising local commanders and small tribal chiefs is being developed, but in the near future there is a strong chance that some big names will add momentum to this opposition.

Well-placed sources in Afghanistan have confirmed that the leader of the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Mullah Mohammed Omar, is regrouping in southern Orguzan province, and that he is trying to muster support from tribes there.

This approach shows that the Taliban are aware that they cannot single-handedly raise any significant opposition, and that considering the new political map in the country, they are now prepared to join with local commanders and tribal chiefs to wage war against foreign troops and the interim administration of Hamid Karzai.

The sources also suggest that lines of communication are being established between leaders of the Northern Alliance, including Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani, Abdul Rassoul Sayyaf, General Mohammed Fahim and Mullah Omar and former Taliban minister Maulana Jalaluddin Haqqani (Haqqani is said to have been injured in the bombing in Gardez.) The Taliban reportedly have sent messages to the Northern Alliance leaders urging them to forget all past differences (the alliance was at the forefront of driving the Taliban out of power) and join hands to oust US troops from the country.

This is said to be the first time since the emergence of the Taliban as a power in 1996 that Mullah Omer has shown any flexibility in his attitude towards the Northern Alliance, but clearly he has struck while the iron is hot to extend the hand of "friendship".

Rabbani and Sayyaf were the most important resistance leaders during the Soviet invasion that ended in 1992, but in the current political situation in Afghanistan they have been left out in the cold. Although Fahim is the defense minister, the presence of foreign troops in the country - to which he is opposed - leaves him with little real authority on important defense issues.

At the same time, the Northern Alliance leaders realize that support for former monarch Zahir Shah is widespread and growing at all levels - and that these supporters are largely more reliable and pro-West than any other faction in the country.

Zahir Shah is due to return to Kabul on March 21 for Nouroze celebrations to mark the Zoastrian new year, which will see other factions left even further out of the limelight. He is expected to be welcomed in the Afghan capital with full royal honors. Karzai will join him in Rome - where he has lived in exile since abdicating in 1972 - and escort him to Kabul.

Leaders such as Rabbani and Sayyaf, who live in Kabul where they attempt to play the role of "fixers" by exploiting what access they have into the corridors of power, will be sharply shown that their support among the warlords is limited. Zahir Shah is still loved and respected among Afghans, irrespective of ethnic affiliations, and they are expected to demonstrate this support by flooding into Kabul.

The day that the former monarch steps into Afghanistan he will become an unequivocal "Afghan elder". In this capacity, as is the Afghan tradition, he will play a key role in the loya jirga (grand council) that is to meet to map out a more permanent political future for the country.

Rabbani and Sayyaf, as well as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a premier during the days of the Afghan communist regime in Kabul, have branded such a council as un-Islamic. There is little chance, therefore, of Northern Alliance people having any significant representation at the council, as pro-Zahir Shah elements, whether they be Pashtun or not, will rule the roost in Afghan politics.

Many people loyal to the former king live in exile in Europe and America. They are generally wealthy and educated, and in good positions to influence events against the likes of Rabbani and Sayyaf. The latter, as well as Fahim, will have little option, then, if they want to have any influence, but to ally with Mullah Omar either overtly or covertly.

Sources say that under the command of Mullah Saifullah Mansoor, the mastermind of on-going fighting around Gardez, small groups will remain hidden in the mountainous terrain around Shahi Kot and Zurmat. In the past week these groups have launched scores of hit-and-run operations against US and allied troops.

Taliban sources claim that they have captured several US soldiers, whom they have detained in caves in the area. They are said to be prepared to negotiate conditions for the release of these prisoners.

Taliban sources have also confirmed that al-Qaeda and the Taliban have sustained heavy casualties as a result of the US bombing in Operation Anaconda, but they have reinforced their positions with both men and ammunition through the support of tribes and local commanders in the area.

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