Posted on 11/03/2001 4:46:46 PM PST by HAL9000
The Northern Alliance in Afghanistan is set to suffer another blow as one of the key commanders of Gulbadin Hikmatyar's Hizb-e-Islami is negotiating to join Taliban forces along with hundreds of his armed men.Amir Mohammed Akbar Khan Barech, former Mujahideen commander of Shorawak who recently made overtures to join the Taliban following American attacks on the country told Gulf News in an exclusive interview that he has started negotiations with the Taliban in Kandahar about two weeks ago.
He belongs to the Barech, a powerful tribe in southern Afghanistan.
"The negotiations have come after a Jirga of the chieftains of the Barech tribe and their ulema in the district of Kandahar in the south," said Barech, while speaking to Gulf News in a small musafirkhana, a motel room, outside Quetta city.
He said the decision has been taken due to foreign interference and outside attack on the country.
"We have political differences with the Taliban, but when it comes to direct foreign attack on the country, it is ours and every Afghan's, responsibility to join hands. That is what brings us close to the Taliban," he said.
The Hizb-e-Islami commander has decided to return to the political arena after a silence of seven years when Taliban swept through Afghanistan and captured Kabul.
Asked if he and his junior commanders would quit former Rabbani's Prime Minister Hikmatyar's party, Khan's reply was in the negative.
"We would be affiliated with Hizb-e-Islami even after joining Taliban ranks in the war against U.S. We will be fighting the Americans and their Afghan partners (referring to Northern Alliance) in the frontline, but our political affiliations will remain with our party," he explained.
Asked if the party leadership approves of this, he responded: "Simply, we will quit the party and join Taliban in the war. Because, here the country is at risk, and if our leadership tries to become an obstacle to protect the country, we will fight them as well."
Khan also said that Hikmatyar is a mujahid, and a mujahid will have no objection to protect the country from outside attack.
Referring to the talks with the Taliban, he said the negotiations started about two weeks ago.
"We started the negotiations with Maulvi Ghulam Haider Barech, Maulvi Noor Shah Barech and Maulvi Faizullah, all Taliban officials in Kandahar and Quetta. And we have given the authority to all these three officials to negotiate for us with their senior leaders in Kandahar," he said.
Haider is the chief of Kandahar city police, while Noor Shah is the chief judge of Taliban Spin Boldak district while Faizullah runs the Taliban madrassa here in Quetta.
"Several rounds of talks have been held with these Taliban officials, who hail from Shorawak, and we are expecting the result so that we could send our men from Shorawak and various refugee camps in Balochistan to join the battle field," he said.
On the supply of weapons, he said: "Weapon is the ornament for an Afghan. Though silent and living in Pakistan, we will get our hands on weapons. It is not a problem for the Afghan people. The most important thing is faith. We have faith in Almighty Allah."
He also claimed 70 per cent of 50,000 Barech people are with him and all the men will go to the frontline and "fight both Americans and their agents in Afghanistan".
The Barech tribal commander also strongly condemned the Northern Alliance, said: "We condemn them, because they are killing their own people with foreign aid."
But when it was pointed out that the Mujahideen have also killed their own people with American and other countries' support, he said things were different. "Before, we fought the communists and their Russian patrons. But today Northern Alliance forces are killing their people with the help of our extreme enemy Russia," he maintained.
About differences with Taliban, he said the major difference is that they were on opposite sides when they were gathering momentum in 1995. He and his men took the support of former President Dr Najibullah's former militiamen and rose against Mujahideen who threw out Russians from Afghanistan.
"We have no problem with religious thoughts, teachings and Shariah laws," he replied when asked if Taliban brand of Islam was also one of the reasons for the differences.
Commenting on the issue of Osama bin Laden and American attacks, he said Osama is just an excuse.
"The real target is Afghanistan and its rich minerals as well as the Central Asian oil reservoirs. Americans want to invade Afghanistan and stay there under the pretext of Osama and international terrorism," the Hizb commander alleged, adding that even after the capture or the death of Osama they (the U.S.) won't leave Afghanistan.
About Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf's policies, he said Pakistan is "trying to hold two watermelons in one hand" and vowed that if American ground troops move in, he would not wait for a signal from the Taliban but gather his men and go to battle.
Khan's overtures to the hardline militia have been acknowledged by the Governor of Kandahar, Maulvi Mohammed Haq.
He told Gulf News that even while the Hizb were the enemies of the Taliban, "any Afghan, whatever his political affiliation was welcome as he was a Muslim and a mujahid."
The U.S., or Israel, I presume. If India doesn't beat us to it first...
I have a sick feeling, we are about to witness a world changing event.
"Another" blow? What was the first one?
He may be a suicidal idiot, but he certainly has a colorful way with metaphors... Maybe we could make him an honorary Southerner. Posthumously, of course...
The last place my wife contracted at she was the only one who could truly speak American English. The whole unit of thirty something people were either Indian, Paki, and 1 Sikh. They all got along in the office. Very pleasant work place. I'll bet none of them want to go back to the cultural home 'paradise' for much longer than 1-2 week visit.
They will all quickly become nothing more than biological material for the local vultures to nibble on!Not to mention fertilizer that the terrain seems desperately in need of.
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