Setback to anti-Taliban forces?

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, SEPT. 10. Amidst conflicting reports on the fate of the Afghan Northern Alliance leader, Mr. Ahmed Shah Masood, after the assassination attempt on his life on Sunday, the diplomatic circles here are busy discussing the pros and cons of his possible death on the ongoing civil war in Afghanistan and its implications for the rest of the world.

Mr. Masood is the last of the Afghan leaders who have been waging a relentless war against the Taliban, which now controls over 95 per cent of the territory in Afghanistan.

If the reports of Mr. Masood's death are correct, the incident is bound to have a profound impact on the Afghan conflict, particularly for the West which has been banking on Masood. A few months ago, Mr. Masood went to the European capitals as a hero and tried to garner support to fight against the Taliban on behalf of the rest of the world.

Assuming that the reports are correct, the international community would have to re-work its strategy vis-a-vis the Taliban. Significantly, the visiting French Foreign Secretary, Mr. Loic Hennkinne, gave enough indications here this evening that his country was very much in the process of re-evaluating its strategy vis-a-vis the Taliban regime.

At a news conference here, Mr. Hennkinne said the French Government was in touch with the Taliban. He was here in connection with the annual contact meeting with Islamabad on a variety of issues, including the situation in Afghanistan.

He condemned the assassination attempt on Mr. Masood and urged the warring factions to seek a political solution to the Afghan conflict. Mr. Hannkinne said there was a difference in the perception of Islamabad and the rest of the world on the need to engage the Taliban.

In a related development, the chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party and former Prime Minister, Ms. Benazir Bhutto, criticised the attack. She expressed concern for the well-being of the Afghan leader.

A party statement said Ms. Bhutto nominated the former High Commissioner, Mr. Wajid Hasan, to contact the Afghan representative in London to convey her concern.

Ms. Bhutto said her party was pained by the sufferings of the Afghan people which spanned more than two decades. She and the PPP advised that negotiations be held between the different Afghan parties with a view to building a safe and peaceful Afghanistan.

``As long as there is turmoil in Afghanistan, Pakistan will feel its after affects. It saddens us to see the Afghan refugees to whom we have given safety live in squalor and poverty because of the infighting in their country. Its time to stop the infighting''. She said Pakistan remained concerned about the fallout of the extremist groups on its own soil and therefore its concern was both humanitarian and its national security interests.She called upon the military regime to negotiate with the Taliban with a view to finding a solution acceptable to all Afghans.G> ``Such a solution was found by my Interior Minister in November 1996 but our Government was toppled by decree through a conspiracy destroying hopes of regional security''.

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Section  : International
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