Congressional team meets Zahir Shah

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 30. As the Bush administration is intensifying the coalition-building process against international terrorism, a bipartisan group of law-makers met the former King of Afghanistan, Mr. Zahir Shah, in Rome today. The 11-member Congressional delegation from the House of Representatives has in it some known supporters of Mr. Shah.

Mr. Shah told members of Congress that he was on the side of the U.S. in its fight against terrorism and would back all efforts to get rid of the Taliban regime in Kabul. ``We have a common struggle against terrorism,'' he is reported to have told the law-makers.

The Congressional delegation was led by the Republican law-maker, Mr. Curt Weldon, who has said that while Mr. Shah would prefer the U.N. to play a role, he did not dismiss the idea that in case the world body did not agree, the U.S. and its allies would liberate his country.

The message that the law-makers are conveying is that Mr. Shah must step up efforts for a political alternative in Kabul and the U.S. Congress is ready to help in the rebuilding of the war-torn country. The delegation, however, has made it clear that it is not speaking on behalf of the White House.

``I can tell you, in Congress we know what you are doing and if you help us to overthrow this Taliban tyranny and bring to justice Osama bin Laden, we will do right by you this time,'' the Republican Congressman, Mr. Dana Rohrabacher told a gathering of Afghan elders and military commanders. ``Congress will help you to rebuild your society,'' he said.

The timing of the delegation meeting Mr. Shah is seen as important in many circles here, including the official establishment. Mr. Shah has already met several of Afghanistan's non-Taliban political and military leaders in recent days and is toying with the idea of convening a Grand Council of Elders, known as Loya Jirga, in a bid to put together a National Unity Government.

In all the public and private meetings that the Bush administration has had with Mr. Shah, there is also the open acknowledgement that the Northern Alliance is upset over the fact that the West is trying to prop up Mr. Zahir Shah, knowing full well that it is the Northern Alliance that is capable of taking on the Taliban.

While almost all non-Taliban groups have been asking Washington to tell Pakistan to stay out of Afghanistan's internal affair, Islamabad has made it known in blunt terms that any flirting with the Northern Alliance is unacceptable and it will not allow a ``hostile regime'' to take shape on its borders.

In the midst of all the political manoeuvrings, the military commanders of the Northern Alliance have been openly advising the Bush administration that if the present moment was not taken advantage of, the U.S. will not achieve its objective of ousting the Taliban and capturing Osama bin Laden.

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Section  : International
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