Posted on 11/07/2001 9:45:38 PM PST by HAL9000
A local head of the mode of the talibans states to prepare his defection
PESHAWAR (Pakistan), Nov. 8 (AFP) - a local head of the mode of the talibans of the east of Afghanistan was these last days in Pakistan and declared that it prepared his defection and that of other local heads and the possible launching of a revolt armed against the militiamans islamists.
Old of forty years, this Pachtoune, which required anonymity for obvious reasons of security, was Wednesday evening in discussions with one of the former commanders of the fight against the Soviet forces based in the area of Peshawar, in the North-West of Pakistan.
In front of two French journalists, it declared that 18 local commanders of its area of the east of Afghanistan, having in all some 1.600 men under their commands, were ready to release the mode of the talibans and with launching an action in connection with the royalist groups of opposition based to Pakistan.
The commander who received it declared that this emissary had arrived very discreetly from Afghanistan a few days earlier with another local head and that they were charged to explore in the name of the other local heads the possibilities of co-operation and the methods of a possible action.
The man, very large and thin, the émacié face, bearing black beard, explained that on arrival of the talibans in 1996, its tribe had decided to be joined the militiamans islamists. " It was not an individual decision, it was a group decision of all the tribe. I could not defy the decision of the tribe ", has it says.
Previously, it affirms that it directed " a deprived business ", without other precision, and that it did not take part in the battles between rival factions which ensanglanté the country between the fall of the communist mode and the arrival of the talibans.
In 1996, " the tribe decided that the young men were to join the talibans because of the fights between factions " of the Alliance of North, the coalition of ethnic minorities which held Kabul then.
" Now, I think that a political change would be advantageous with the whole of the Afghans ", has it says.
According to him, much of people are against the talibans, but their mode is still solid, and the American bombardments reinforced it. An invasion of foreign troops would reinforce it more still, estimates it.
" We hear that it is a question that the Americans send troops on the ground. People in Afghanistan are against the talibans, but at the same time they would not accept at any price a foreign invasion, they could join the talibans to be opposed to the invasion ", it declared.
Repeated attempts took place lately to try to convince of the local heads pachtounes of the east of Afghanistan to release the talibans and to join the opposition.
These efforts underwent a very hard blow with the death of the commander Abdul Haq, hero of the fight against the Soviets, captured by the talibans and carried out for espionage on October 26. Entered clandestinely the east of Afghanistan, Abdul Haq tried to rejoin heads of his native area.
According to concordant information's, the talibans are however worried by these attempts and undertook massive raids of the elements rejoined with their mode but considered it likely to release it.
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