Karzai calls elders to Afghan 'jirga'

AT THE bottom of a hill on the outskirts of the Afghan capital, billboards display pictures of past Afghan rulers with captions extolling how they resolved critical national issues at various times by holding "jirgas", traditional gatherings of elders and notables.

• US soliders are still on patrol in Afghanistan but President Obama has vowed to start withdrawing troops from mid-2011

Flyers addressing Taleban insurgents and their sympathisers, bear an ancient Afghan maxim: "If you insist on your might and I do the same, neither of us will exist. But if you listen to me and I do to you, both of us will survive."

The homespun, softly-softly message is part of an effort by President Hamid Karzai to reach out to the Taleban at a time when the insurgency is at its strongest and before President Barack Obama's pledge to start withdrawing troops in mid-2011.

Karzai, ruler of Afghanistan since the fall of the Taleban in 2001, has called a jirga this week from 2-5 June to present proposals for how to start peace talks. Delegates will debate a draft that includes suggestions for the integration of Taleban foot soldiers into the army or police, the removal of some Taleban leaders from a UN blacklist and possibly seeking asylum for others in an Islamic country from where they can engage in talks.

The international community had given its full backing to Karzai's bid to reach out to disaffected countrymen and the jirga offered an opportunity to advance that goal, said Mark Sedwill, Nato's top diplomat in the country.

"This is a big week for Afghanistan," he said, adding it was the first of a series of major political events including the Kabul conference in July and parliament election in September aimed at setting the direction for a political settlement of the conflict.

Mr Sedwell added: "The international community led by the United States has made clear we give complete support to Afghanistan to reach out to disaffected compatriots who are willing to re-enter the political mainstream. The jirga is a critical opportunity to advance that process."

Analysts and observers however are not optimistic the jirga will amount to much, saying the assembly is more to give Karzai's proposals a veneer of national acceptance.

"What we hope is that this process will help demonstrate Karzai as a true national leader," said a senior Obama aide in Washington.

"This is really just the beginning of an important process and the Afghan government will be seeking some consensus on how to proceed."

Washington does not want to be seen as interfering in what it says must be an Afghan-led process. Although jirgas are largely a Pashtun affair, tribal elders and notables from all of Afghanistan's different ethnic groups across the country will attend.

They include Afghanistan's Ulema religious council, members of civil societies and representatives of refugees living in Iran and Pakistan.