Afghanistan's Northern Alliance and a delegation sent by the country's former king agreed Thursday to a formula for an interim council that will run the war-torn state until March, an adviser to the alliance was quoted as saying by AP.
"This is an important breakthrough because had it not come through these talks would have bogged down, but now they have a focus," said Mohammad Hussein Bakhshi, aide to alliance delegate Mohammad Natiqi.
According to AFP, the son of the former king Shah had warned of a fresh civil war if the landmark talks on the political future of the country ended in failure.
"All of our brothers know that if the issues are not resolved now, Afghanistan will face big dangers," Mirwais Zahir told the agency in a telephone interview from Rome, where his father has lived since his ouster in 1973.
"There will again be civil war. We should show mercy towards our people," he said.
Twenty-eight delegates from four Afghan groups - the dominant Northern Alliance, the ex-king's entourage, and the so-called Peshawar and Cyprus groups - on Thursday entered their third day of UN-sponsored talks on a post-Taliban power-sharing deal.
According to the AFP report, the two largest delegations at the talks have agreed the council will comprise 42 members, with 21 members each from the alliance and delegation of former king Mohammad Zaher Shah, Bakshshi said. A national council of tribal leaders will be convened in March.
Bakhshi said some provision might be made for representation from the Peshawar and Cyprus exile groups.
The delegations will decide who will be included on the interim council during further talks Thursday, Bakhshi told AP.
The talks will also address the issue of whether the representation will be decided based on the population of Afghanistan's 28 provinces, or on the nation's ethnic makeup, he said – Albawaba.com
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