I will return to Kabul soon, says Zahir Shah

LONDON, NOV. 18. Concerned over the possible out break of faction fights in Afghanistan, exiled King Zahir Shah, says he will return to Kabul soon, simply to be a member of the ``Loya Jirga'' (traditional representative assembly) rather than a king.

``I am ready to sacrifice my health, my time and whatever is left of my life to serve my nation,'' the 87-year-old former monarch said in an interview published in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper today.Mr. Zahir Shah was shocked as he watched the bombing of Kabul and Kandahar. ``I am against this war because I am always against killing of people,'' he told the newspaper in the first interview since September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

According to the report, the fall of Kabul to the Northern Alliance has brought a flood of representatives to his door. It seems that everyone from the United Nations to the Afghan refugees who call him ``Baba'' or grandfather, believes that he may be the only person to head a multi-ethnic government and bring peace.

``The situation in my country is very grave,'' Mr. Zahir Shah, said in French that was the language of his court.

``The Northern Alliance had promised us that they would stop at the northern gates of Kabul to give others time to move. But they did not stop,'' he said. ``I asked them why they didn't keep the agreement, but different individuals give different answers,'' he added. The King has written to the U.N. Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, asking for a peacekeeping force in Kabul to allow the convening of a ``Loya Jirga'', to choose a head for the State.

``The only hope for long-standing peace and stability in Afghanistan is to put in place a political structure which is representative of all Afghan people and all sectors, including Pathans, Tajiks and Uzbeks,'' he said. ``If this is not in place then peace will not come.''

Over the past few days numerous Pathan commanders have telephoned the King's office, saying that they have captured the territory and asking what to do with it. ``We have had calls from 27 provinces and they all want to know when the King is coming,'' said his grandson, Mr. Mustafa Zahir Shah.

- PTI

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