KOENIGSWINTER, Germany - U.N.-led talks on Afghanistan's future took an important step forward yesterday with four Afghan factions poring over a U.N. draft detailing terms for the northern alliance to transfer power in the capital, Kabul.
But tough bargaining over powersharing was only beginning. None of the delegations has yet formally submitted its list of names for an envisioned interim administration - "the missing link," according to U.N. spokesman Ahmad Fawzi.
Without a consensus on all points, anything agreed in Germany runs the risk of falling apart on the ground, Fawzi warned.
"We want to produce a document that is worth the paper it's written on, not a weak agreement that they will not respect when they go home," Fawzi said. "They have to agree to every word in this agreement and implement it. The international community will be watching very carefully how they implement the agreement."
Once an agreement is reached, U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was prepared to travel immediately to Afghanistan to implement any deal, Fawzi said.
The conference outside Bonn gathers delegates from the northern alliance - which controls much of Afghanistan following the collapse of the Taliban - and representatives from the exiled former king and two other small exile groups.
The northern alliance controls Kabul and much of the nation after the collapse of the Taliban last month. The alliance is a loose collection of militias and is made up mostly of ethnic minorities, particularly Tajiks and Uzbeks.
The draft envisions an interim administration of up to 30 people and an independent council of elders to convene a traditional tribal council, or loya jirga, in six months, Fawzi said. With several delegations pushing for a symbolic role for former King Mohammad Zaher Shah, the U.N. draft suggests he should convene the emergency loya jirga.
The factions have already agreed that the emergency loya jirga will establish a transitional administration to govern for two years, paving the way for a democratic constitution and eventual elections.
The draft also includes provisions for an international security force. But Fawzi said the interim administration would not be delayed for such a force to beassembled, and that one would be deployed only if requested by the Afghans.
But in a reflection of the mistrust some factions feel toward alliance fighters holding the capital, several delegations have said their people won't enter Kabul before there is a peacekeeping mission, a senior U.S. official said.
The draft also includes a body to begin drafting a legal framework and appointing judges for a supreme court during the interim period, Fawzi said.
Plans for a second, larger assembly of 120-200 members with quasi-legislative functions were dropped Saturday to speed the talks.
The four factions were to gather yesterday evening at the secluded, hilltop Petersberg mansion to work over the seven-page draft, the first attempt to distill proposals made over the last six days.
Fawzi said they hoped to have a clean text by Monday morning, although U.S. envoy James F. Dobbins, who is pushing for a full deal in Germany, warned negotiations on names could drag out until Wednesday. "It will be over when it's over," Dobbins said.
Delegates said they first were running the draft by leaders who weren't present at the talks.
"Yes, we have seen the draft and we have reservations on some points. Also, we have agreed among ourselves on other points," said Haji Ali Mirzai, an aide to northern alliance delegate Mohammad Natiqi, declining to elaborate.
The northern alliance has reluctantly agreed to a security force during an interim period, but has insisted it now has security in the capital under control.
Talks in Germany moved into a decisive phase Saturday after Brahimi and foreign diplomats pressured northern alliance leaders in Kabul to accept an interim administration named on neutral turf in Germany. Former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani had insisted the council be named in Kabul, underscoring doubts about whether any agreement here could be implemented.
Rabbani is the northern alliance's titular head and leads its biggest faction. But his role in an interim administration remains unclear. Members of the ex-king's delegation insist he should have none. Rabbani is currently recognized by the United Nations as head of state.
"He will continue to play a role until the interim administration is in place," Fawzi said. "We need him to conclude this agreement."
At stake in the talks are promised billions of dollars in reconstruction aid for Afghanistan and the country's future stability after 23 years of war.
