Challenges ahead for interim authority

Delegates to Afghanistan's UN-sponsored peace talks in Bonn were leaving on Thursday in preparation for the establishment of a new interim government, which is expected to assume responsibility later this month for running the country for six months. The decision to create a new administration, after more than eight days of negotiations, would lead to the creation of a 30 member government, headed by tribal Pashtun commander, Hamid Karzai. The administration would call an emergency 'Loya Jirga', an Afghan traditional council of elders, to approve the creation of a subsequent transitional government. In two years time, Afghanistan would have its first national elections to create a formally elected government. In the interim administration, the key ministries such as interior, defence and foreign affairs would be retained by members of the Northern Alliance (NA), while the finance ministry would go to Hidayat Amin Arsala, a former World Bank official, nominated by the Rome group of former king Zahir Shah. Two women have been included in the new cabinet, marking the first time in more than five years that women would hold high office in an Afghan government. Showing visible delight at the outcome, the UN's special representative to Afghanistan who chaired the talks, Lakhdar Brahimi, maintained that the real work would now begin. "The real difficulties are going to start when this interim administration moves to Kabul," he told journalists in Bonn. Brahimi added that all the elements in the agreement were proposed by Afghans, and stressed that the commitment of the international community to help and assist was "very strong, perhaps unprecedented". The intra-Afghan agreement has been warmly received by Western governments. A senior western diplomat observing the talks praised Brahimi for "a stunning success". Western diplomats believe that the Bonn agreement has a good chance of surviving previous ones because of its strong international backing. Response among Afghanistan's neighbours was also positive. Pakistan, staunch supporter of the Taliban regime until recently, was quick to welcome the agreement. A foreign ministry press statement issued in Islamabad said that the "new interim authority would establish the foundation of a stable, prosperous Afghanistan which was friendly to all its neighbours". Some Afghan analysts have warned that the perceived under-represetation of some Afghan communities would be the first hurdle to overcome for the fledgling administration. Members of Afghanistan's minority Shi'ite community left the meeting displeased. Other observers have pointed to lack of popular support for the four groups who clinched the Bonn deal as a weakness of the agreement. Afghanistan's senior Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Asif Mohseni, called a meeting of his key supporters in Mashhad, the northern Iranian city and centre of Shi'ite theology to discuss the outcome. His son, a delegate at the Bonn talks, said they had not been happy with receiving only four posts in the new administration. The fact that the Northern Alliance has received key ministries; Interior, Defence and Foreign Affairs, has also alarmed members of Afghanistan's ethnic Pashtun tribes, with some members of the so-called 'Peshawar Group' delegation to the talks claiming that many ethnic Pashtuns would not accept it. However, the leader of the Peshawar group, Pir Gailani, told IRIN on Thursday that although key portfolios had remained with representatives of the Rabbani government, he would not oppose it. "We have our concerns. Though it tilted towards one faction, it's better than nothing," he said, adding that his focus now was to ensure that the forthcoming Loya Jirga would have far broader Afghan representation. The Afghan Support Group (ASG), which includes representatives of the main donors to Afghanistan, is meeting in Germany this week. One senior Western diplomat attending the talks said there was a close link between reconstruction aid and the peace agreement. After 23 years of conflict, economists estimate that Afghanistan will require between US $6.5-10 billion in humanitarian and rehabilitation assistance over the next five to 10 years. This was unlikely to materialise without clear progress towards stability in the country. "The delegates at Bonn were made acutely aware that this money would come only if they can reach a peace agreement and stick to it," he said, adding that Afghans should not take international assistance for granted. For the full IRIN interview with Pir Gailani, Peshawar Group leader