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 Afghanistan's President-elect Hamid Karzai (right) attends a session of the Loya Jirga in Kabul on June 14.
Photo: Behrouz Mehri-Pool/Getty Images |
INTERNATIONAL NEWS Afghanistan inches ahead… After months of wrangling, delegates representing the Afghan mujahideen and President Hamid Karzai at the Loya Jirga, or Gathering of Elders, appear to have reached a compromise on a draft constitution for the country on December 29 in Kabul. The powers of the president and the role of Islam were the most contentious issues at the current Loya Jirga, with the India-educated Karzai stressing that he would contest the presidential election scheduled for June only if the Loya Jirga agreed to the presidential system envisaged in the draft. But the mujahideen commanders, who rule much of Afghanistan outside Kabul, demanded a parliamentary system in which the president and prime minister would share power. Furthermore, two Indian construction workers, kidnapped by the Taliban on December 6 from Zabul province, were released unharmed two weeks later. The Afghan government denied releasing Taliban prisoners in exchange. Text: Ramananda Sengupta Taliban release abducted Indians 'We are willing to go back to Afghanistan'
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