 Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said he wants to hold a jirga (council) of Pashtun tribes from Pakistan and Afghanistan to end Taliban violence. The two countries disagree on how to fight the Taliban – mostly drawn from the Pashtun tribes – on their border.
| “Afghan ministers and officials are however concerned that such a meeting may be 'manipulated' by Pakistan.” |
Karzai said he expected both he and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to attend the meeting by the end of the year. Afghan ministers and officials are however concerned that such a meeting may be “manipulated” by Pakistan. “I am thinking of a meeting between Afghan civil society, Afghan elders, tribal chiefs, clergy and Afghan spiritual leadership plus the intellectuals. From the Pakistan side I am hoping for the same thing,” Karzai told a BBC correspondent in an exclusive interview, adding, “It should be a gathering of the people from one end of the Afghan border with Pakistan to the other end.”
Karzai said the jirga would attempt to revive Pashtun civil society on both sides of the border in order to combat what he called the growing Talibanisation of the region. | “The traditional secular Pashtun leadership of Pakistan has been undermined systematically and violently. The killing of 150 Pashtun leaders in North Waziristan is a clear indication of that.” |
“The traditional secular Pashtun leadership of Pakistan has been undermined systematically and violently,” said Karzai. “The killing of 150 Pashtun leaders in North Waziristan is a clear indication of that. This can only stop if we support civil society,” he said.
| “A jirga means representative and those not representative cannot be there or called to attend...” |
The Afghan president said that if Pakistan was transparent about the jirga, it could bring peace between the two countries. “A jirga means representative and those not representative cannot be there or called to attend. Nobody can fake a jirga in Afghanistan...and I hope there is similar transparency on the Pakistani side,” said Karzai.
Pakistan has long stated that it wants Afghanistan to recognise the Durand Line, the 2,640km (1610 miles)-long border between the two countries. Afghans say the British-drawn, colonial era boundary line robs Afghanistan of Pashtun territory, now inside Pakistan. No Afghan government, including the Pashtun-dominated Taliban regime, which was recognised by Pakistan, has felt strong enough to recognise the Durand Line. |