'Zahir Shah for multinational Muslim force'

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, OCT. 24. Pir Sayed Ahmed Gailani, organiser of the two-day conclave of Afghan tribal chiefs and clerics in Peshawar, has said that the former King of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah, desired the positioning of a multinational Muslim force when the Taliban is replaced by another government in Kabul.

In his speech on the opening day today, Sayed Gailani, considered close to Zahir Shah, urged the United States to end the military campaign at the earliest and appealed to the ``moderate'' Taliban to help in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. His reference to ``moderate Taliban'' indicated that the conclave had Islamabad's blessings.

Much importance is attached to the conclave being convened by the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan (NIFA) as it is expected to throw some light on the forces opposed to the Taliban regime and the extent to which they are prepared to go with the U.S.-led alliance in overthrowing the militia. The NIFA is a 19-party coalition working for a broadbased government in Afghanistan even before the September 11 events. Obviously, it never received much attention from the international community.

In another development, a Pakistan People's Party spokesman deplored what he termed as an `inordinate delay' in issuing a passport to the party chairperson and former Pakistan Prime Minister, Ms. Benazir Bhutto, by the Musharraf Government.

In a statement, the spokesman said Ms. Bhutto had applied for an urgent passport in London on October 1. Under the rules, an urgent passport is issued within two days. However, the Pakistan High Commission had forwarded her application to the Foreign Office in Islamabad, which, in turn, had sent it to the Chief Executive's secretariat for permission. But the secretariat was indulging in delaying tactics.

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