France and Britain draw up Afghan govt document

France and Britain are drafting a United Nations Security Council resolution to hasten the process of setting up a government to replace the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, French president Jacques Chirac said.

After a meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Chirac said the resolution would be ‘‘very close’’ to a French proposal early last month.

It called, among other things, for establishing a transitional administration created with the involvement of the former king of Afghanistan and with United Nations backing.

The secretary general and the security council are waiting for a recommendation by UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who just visited Pakistan and Iran and is heading to Rome for talks with former king Mohammad Zaher Shah and then to Paris to see Chirac later this week.

The 87-year-old former monarch, who has lived in exile for 28 years, is viewed as the most likely rallying figure for a new government.

Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister, has been consulting Afghanistan’s neighbours and Afghan ethnic leaders on a political process that would complement the US-led war against terrorism.

The French president said he had discussed the political process with US president George Bush as well as Annan and both had agreed to the proposed blueprint.

Chirac said the Security Council would meet on November 13 for a public debate on Afghanistan. The resolution should be adopted by the end of next week, he said.

Chirac also said that he had proposed the United Nations urgently hosted a meeting of donor countries to raise money promised by many countries for humanitarian relief for Afghans who have been displaced by waves of conflict, including the latest air strikes.

He suggested that Annan appointed a co-ordinator for humanitarian relief in Afghanistan, who could give the aid process the necessary ‘‘impetus and organisation’’. He said he had discussed the idea with Bush, and Annan had accepted it.

Besides military action, which ‘‘will take a long time’’, Chirac said ‘‘political action is very essential’’.

Such action should lead to the creation of a ‘‘political regime which is appropriate for Afghanistan and countries around Afghanistan.

‘‘I say appropriate because the current Taliban regime is not,’’ he said, citing the Islamic fundamentalist militia’s disrespect for human rights and its oppression of women and minorities.

A new regime ‘‘clearly has to be representative of the entire population, and in particular, different ethnic groups’’, and one that fosters good relations with neighbours and gradually establishes democracy in Afghanistan, Chirac said.

Chirac said France would consider any US request for special forces for a ground war if the French military was told of the exact purpose of its mission and was involved in the planning stages.

He said Bush had made no new request yesterday, but such specific military matters were usually discussed by the top generals.

About 2,000 French soldiers, pilots and sailors are involved in the military campaign in Afghanistan to hunt for Osama bin Laden, the man Washington blames for the Sept 11 attacks in New York and Washington, and his allies in the Taliban regime.