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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 29, 2001

Afghan Rivals Agree on Power Sharing in Principle

All four Afghan rival groups at the Bonn conference agreed in principle on Thursday over power sharing in the post-Taliban era, but the negotiators need to discuss details on the formation ofa new government, and differences over security measures in this war-torn country and the role of former Afghan king Mohammad ZahirShah are emerging.


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All four Afghan rival groups at the Bonn conference agreed in principle on Thursday over power sharing in the post-Taliban era, said diplomats in the peace talks on Afghanistan sponsored by the United Nations.

But the negotiators need to discuss details on the formation ofa new government, and differences over security measures in this war-torn country and the role of former Afghan king Mohammad ZahirShah are emerging, according to diplomats in the Bonn talks, which started Tuesday.

Yunus Qanooni, delegate of the Northern Alliance, argued Wednesday that there is no need for an international peace-keepingforce in Afghanistan. His remarks were contrary to those including some U.N. members who said multinational forces would bea viable way to guarantee the peace process in Afghanistan.

On the role of former Afghan king Zahir Shah, Qanooni said the Northern Alliance trusts a system but not a certain person, and the system will be Loya Jirga, a grand tribal gathering for approval of a new head of state and a new transitional government.

The former king will play his part if the Loya Jirga agrees, headded.

At present, the former king is a popular choice by other groupsand many U.N. members.

The Afghan representatives have come from four main political factions, namely the Northern Alliance, the Rome Group led by Zahir Shah who is in-exile in Italy, the Cyprus Group made up of other in-exile Afghans as well as the so-called Peshawar convention, a Pakistan-based organization.

The gathering has brought factions of the war-ravaging land forthe first time to negotiate political and security structures since the 1970s.






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