Daily Excelsior....News Page

US calls for discipline by NA troops, Pak upset
After Kabul, Alliance captures Jalalabad

KABUL, Nov 13: Afghanistan’s anti-Taliban alliance today claimed five more provinces had fallen under their control, which included the key eastern city of Jalalabad.

Younis Qanooni, the newly appointed head of the opposition military commission for Kabul, told AFP the Taliban had lost Nangarhar, Kunar and Laghman provinces in the east along with Ghazni in the south and Farah in west.

"According to the written reports I have received, the Muslim people of the eastern zone in general, and also Ghazni and Farah, have been liberated."

He said "local people" were in control of the provinces following the fall of the capital, Kabul, to the opposition early today.

Earlier, making a dramatic advance, the opposition Northern Alliance forces this morning captured Afghan capital Kabul taking over the Presidential Palace and other major installations amidst scenes of chaos and jubiliation driving away Taliban fighters to their southern stronghold of Kandahar.

Armed with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket propelled grenade launchers, thousands of alliance troops swept into the city without much resistance forcing a full scale Taliban retreat taking over Presidential Palace and other major public buildings including the state-run Bakhtar news agency, Iran’s state-run Television reported.

Vowing to secure order in Kabul, plagued by widespread looting, the opposition deployed police units and other security forces in all corners of the city.

Some Arab volunteers serving the Taliban were summarily shot as looting broke out in the city, reports reaching here said.

Alliance military chief Gen Mohammad Qasim Fahim and Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah have arrived in Kabul, the Iranian television said. The advance followed sweeping gains across the north of the country.

Though the capture of Kabul, ruled by the Taliban for nearly five years, is a major triumph in the US-led coalition’s war against terrorism, it has put Washington in a diplomatic quandary as it had cautioned the alliance forces not to move into the city till a broad-based post-Taliban Government in Afghanistan took shape.

The US pondered the fallout of this unexpected development.

Reacting to the entry of opposition troops into Kabul, Pakistan said no single entity should occupy the Afghan capital and it should be demilitarised.

"Our position is that it is better if Kabul remains demilitarised and no single entity takes over Kabul," Foreign office spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan said.

As the Taliban retreated from Kabul, they took with them eight foreign aid workers - four Germans, two Australians and two Americans - accused of spreading Christianity in Afghanistan.

Millions of dollars are reported to have been stolen from the main market by the fleeing Taliban militia. Armed alliance soldiers were seen chasing looters carrying computers, carpets and other goods from the market.

Huge crowds gathered in the city shouting ‘death to Pakistan’ and ‘death to Taliban" as opposition forces entered Kabul. The atmosphere along the road to Kabul was festive with tears and shouts of death to Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

The Iranian TV showed images of people shouting ‘victory, victory’ and flashing the ‘V’ sign with their fingers.

Dozens of people threw their black turbans, a symbol of the Taliban regime, and Radio Afghanistan began broadcasting music for the first time in five years.

Another pleasant surpise was a woman’s voice on the air presenting news, an unheard of event under the Taliban.

Dozens of captured Taliban fighters surrounded by angry crowds, burnt out and abandoned cars were also shown on TV.

There were also reports of groups of Afghans storming a prison in the western city of Herat liberating around 1,000 prisoners. Herat was captured yesterday after a popular uprising against the Taliban.

Meanwhile, Pakistan today said the Northern Alliance must not occupy Afghanistan capital Kabul because only a broad-based Government and not a single group could bring peace to the war-torn nation.

Briefing newspersons here, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan said, "Pakistan holds the view that the Northern Alliance forces must not occupy Kabul. It is our hope that calm prevails and bloodshed is avoided."

"All possible efforts should be made at the earliest through political dispensation and under the auspices of the United Nations to bring peace in Afghanistan," he said.

He hoped that the six plus two would redouble their efforts to set up an administration that was multi-ethnic and enjoyed the support of all groups.

Regarding the fall of Kabul, he said the situation was still fluid.

In Washington the US today called for the troops of anti-Taliban Northern Alliance to maintain discipline after they entered Kabul, ignoring pleas from US officials to hold back.

"It would have been preferable in broad terms for them to have waited and for there to be others in the city, but things move very quickly and now that they are there, we’re going to work with them and others to make sure this leads to the formation of a broad-based Government," said a senior State Department official.

"Reports are that the people of Kabul are celebrating, but we would like to see the Northern Alliance make sure that their troops maintain discipline," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

US officials led by President George W Bush had been urging Northern Alliance for several days to hold back from entering Kabul, fearing that the presence of the mainly ethnic Tajik and Uzbek opposition could provoke resistance from the city’s mostly ethnic Pashtun population.

However, the State Department official noted that initial reports from Afghan capital were promising with residents cheering anti-Taliban forces.

"It’s not ideal, but obviously events move very quickly," he said. "We are perfectly capable, willing and able to deal with the situation now."

The official said the newly named US special envoy to Afghan opposition, James Dobbins, was now in Rome for a meeting with former king of Afghanistan Zahir Shah.

Just hours before opposition forces entered Kabul, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the time was near for an international "coalition of the willing" to be sent to secure the Afghan capital. (Agencies)

India won’t join military alliance, says Vajpayee

From S D Rohmetra

LONDON, Nov 13: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today ruled out the possibility of India joining any military alliance and said that the campaign against terrorism shouldn’t be targeted against any religion.

Addressing a press conference here before flying back home after 10 days tour of Russian, the United States and the United Kingdom, Mr Vajpayee said he read reports regarding India having turned down a proposal for military alliance with the US.

"There was no question of India joining any military alliance", he firmly said.

"While fighting terrorism, we should see that the campaign was not targeted against any country", the Prime Minister said.

On the post-Taliban set up in Afghanistan, Vajpayee said the ‘liberals’ in the militia regime could be associated with any future political dispensation there.

However, the Taliban, as a name, should in no way be used in any new dispensation, he asserted.

Vajpayee said the developments in Afghanistan were the focus of his discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President George W Bush and UK Premier Tony Blair. On India’s stand that the 6+2 process should be expanded to include itself, Mr Vajpayee said, "there was a general appreciation of this position."

He said various ideas were being discussed about the political set up of Afghanistan but no common view had emerged yet. He expressed satisfaction on the outcome of his three-nation tour.

He said there was a general consensus with the leadership of the three countries on tackling and countering international terrorism. "All the leaders agreed that terrorism should be tackled in a global and comprehensive manner and that no political, economic or ideological justification for terrorism is acceptable," he said.

He said his visit to the three countries served to enlarge and deepen the areas of understanding and agreement’s.

"There was a convergence of views for the future dispensation in Afghanistan," he added.

Mr Vajpayee said the discussion with Mr Bush centered on the future of the Indo-US partnership. "Mr Bush was categorical on the commitment of his administration to a comprehensive and all round intensification of our bilateral relations over a wide canvas," he said.

The Prime Minister said the lifting of economic restrictions should facilitate high technology transfers, cooperation in space and defence and collaboration in the civilian applications of atomic energy.

"Our relations with the US have strengthened significantly, and I believe there are excellent long-term prospects for there expansion and diversification," he added.

About his visit to Russia, Mr Vajpayee said, "it enabled a further consolidation of our bilateral-strategic partnership."The Russian leadership confirmed the congruence of geo-strategic outlook between US, and the scope for further defence, economic and atomic cooperation." Mr Vajpayee said in the UK, he exchanged views on all major international issues with Mr Blair. "We reviewed the entire range of bilateral relations," the Prime Minister said. (with agencies)