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CNN Live At Daybreak

Close Friend of Taliban Leader Switches Sides in Kandahar

Aired November 19, 2001 - 06:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: The Taliban still controls Kandahar in the south, but there are rumblings of a change in power. A close associate of the supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, is looking to take some power, and our Carol Lin is in Quetta, Pakistan with the latest on that for us -- Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Donna. The man you're talking about is by the name of Haji Bashar. He is a close associate of Mullah Omar, and is associated with the Taliban government. He became the chief administrator of Kandahar a few days ago.

But here is what we've learned from what has happened this morning. According to a source inside of Kandahar, who spoke with Haji Bashar, apparently Haji Bashar, this close friend and member of the Taliban to Mullah Omar, has switched sides, and he is now allied with the Pashtun tribal leaders, who are trying to fight for control of that city.

As we understand it, in the next 24 hours, he is going to be confronting Mullah Omar, who is hiding in the hills outside the city of Kandahar, and he is going to tell Mullah Omar he and his forces must withdraw from the city.

At the same time, we are hearing from Afghan Pashtun leaders who are meeting -- tribal leaders who are meeting here in the city of Quetta. They are saying that diplomatic efforts are failing inside of Kandahar to fully convince the entire Taliban to withdraw from that city, and so they have set a Saturday deadline for the Taliban: "Withdraw from the city of Kandahar, or we will begin to wage war against you, as soon as this weekend."

This is what a Pashtun tribal spokesman had to say about what he hopes will happen next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOUSAF PASHTUN, TRIBAL SPOKESMAN: We will try our best to the last moment -- the last possibility to take -- to make the takeover as peaceful as possible. So that negotiation is still going on. As long as the inside people are concerned, we told you before that the bulk of the fighting force or opposition force to the peaceful surrender is mainly the Arabs and a few Taliban -- I mean, Afghan Taliban, who are considered those who -- and maybe by all standards of international law, what we call war criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: But, according to the Taliban embassy up in Islamabad this morning, these tribal leaders are a long way off from controlling the city of Kandahar. The Taliban still insist that they control the city of Kandahar, as well as the surrounding provinces -- Donna.

Carol, is this a power grab by Haji Bashar? Or what kind of support does he have?

LIN: It's an interesting dynamic, Donna. Essentially, Haji Bashar is a Taliban and a close friend of Mullah Omar, as they grew up together. Just a few days ago, it was a transitional government, he was put into place. But not only is he a Taliban, he is also a member of the largest, most influential Pashtun tribe, one of the tribes which is trying to seize control.

So what people are telling me is that Haji Bashar is beginning to see the reality of the situation, and he is switching sides to what he thinks will be the winning team.

The bottom line is what we are hearing, according to this source inside of Kandahar, is that tribal loyalties are now kicking in. People are taking a look at their options. Is the Taliban really going to fight to the death, and what evidence are we seeing of that? Or are these tribal leaders going to be ruling the day in the future government inside of Kandahar?

But you also have to understand, all of our sources are allied with these Pashtun tribal leaders. So we're still waiting to see what develops next. Whether they, in fact, have the authority to wage war, and whether, in fact, the Taliban will fully withdraw from the city, and that, despite what we are hearing from several sources, we have yet to see -- Donna.

KELLEY: Carol Lin in Quetta, Pakistan, thanks very much. We'll see you soon.

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