Afghan delegates to dicuss future govt

Representatives of several Afghan ethnic groups and factions will gather in Bonn today for the first round of talks on the formation of a new government in Afghanistan.

Representatives of the Northern Alliance, regional governors and freelance warlords will attend the talks, as will delegates connected to the exiled king, Zahir Shah, and members of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Afghanistan.

The Taliban has been excluded from the talks, a move that has led to the Pashtun ethnic group, Afghanistan’s largest, being severely under-represented.

The talks were convened by the United Nations, which is expected to pressure the delegates to accept the presence of a multi-national peacekeeping force in their country.

There are also reports that the US has withheld billions of dollars in reconstruction aid unless the delegates decide on a pro-Western government that would have the support of the US and the UN.