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| Afghanistan |
| Zahir Shah ready to accept role as head of state |
| 2002-05-28 |
| Former Afghan king Mohammed Zahir Shah told AFP that he would accept a nomination to become the country's head of state at next month's Loya Jirga as he backed Hamid Karzai to continue leading the government. "I will accept the responsibility of head of state if that is what the Loya Jirga demands of me but I have no intention to restore the monarchy," he said. "I do not care about the title of king. The people call me Baba (the Dari for Papa) and I prefer this title. The period of royalty is past." Since he's 87 years old, this might be considered an interim measure... The Loya Jirga is due to convene in Kabul from June 10 to select a transitional government to run Afghanistan for up to two years. The 87-year-old also said it was "essential" that interim leader Karzai retained his position as head of government at the assembly. "I think that in this situation that it is essential he remains in his post. It would be very natural if he were to lead the next government," said Zahir Shah. Dostum or Ismael Khan would probably be a better choice, but neither has the backing of the Pashtuns, who are the problem, not the solution... Karzai has built up a close relationship with his fellow Pashtun Zahir Shah in the past few months and is known to be a frequent visitor to the ex-king's residence in the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. "I like him very much," Zahir Shah said of Karzai. "He has many assets. He is honest and a nice man. We are good friends." In Afghanistan, being "nice" doesn't work well. Being honest doesn't help much, either. But without a national army and/or an internal security force to back him up, being nice and friendly has pretty much been the only tool he's had. We'll see what happens when there's a thicker layer of legitimacy over him and there are more guns available. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |