Afghan peace jirga to start without Musharraf

Kabul, Aug 9: A peace council of Afghan and Pakistani political and tribal leaders was due to start in the Afghan capital, Kabul, today, but without Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf who pulled out at the last minute.

Back home, Musharraf was meeting senior aides and ruling party leaders today to decide whether to declare a state of emergency.

The three-day council, or jirga, was agreed by Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Washington late last year to bring together the two often-feuding, but important US allies to seek a common strategy against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Musharraf's absence will deal a blow to the jirga, which has already been hit by a boycott by some Pakistani tribal groups.

Musharraf told Karzai he could not make the long-planned meeting due to other engagements, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said.

The Afghan presidency put a brave face on Musharraf's absence.

''Of course we were expecting President Musharraf to visit us and we had an agreement on that,'' said presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada. ''Of course President Karzai reiterated the fact that there was an earlier agreement and the fact that the jirga is significant and his (Musharraf's) role is significant.'' ''It would have been great if he had come, but on the Afghan side we are doing our best. We are working towards a good outcome to achieve peace and security for both Afghanistan and Pakistan.'' Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is to attend the talks in Musharraf's place.

Afghan officials often accuse Pakistan of harbouring Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in order to keep its neighbour weak.

Pakistan denies the charge and points out it has arrested a number of senior al Qaeda leaders and is battling its own Taliban threat in tribal areas along the disputed Afghan border.

Expectations Low

Some 175 Pakistani officials, politicians and tribal elders are to attend the jirga, in a large marquee in the Afghan capital, alongside a similar number from Afghanistan. Another gathering will be held in Pakistan, but no date has yet been set.

Analysts and diplomats warned against high expectations from the jirga, saying it just a first step towards a unified approach to combating the threat of Taliban insurgents and their al Qaeda allies who now threaten security in both countries.

A jirga is a traditional meeting among the Pashtun tribes that live on both sides of the border, where elders rule by consensus to try to settle disputes peacefully.

Security will be tight for the meeting for fear of attacks by the Taliban who have stepped up their campaign to destabilise the pro-Western Afghan government in the last year and extended their influence to areas hitherto considered safe.

Taliban fighters are also holding 21 South Koreans and a German hostage and have already killed three of their captives.

The governor of the province southwest of Kabul where the Koreans are held said he feared the Taliban would kill another hostage in order to upstage the jirga.

Some 2,500 police are guarding the jirga and NATO troops were also on hand. All roads in and out of the area were closed to traffic except for the buses ferrying delegates to the venue.

Reuters>