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CNN Saturday Morning News
Tribal Leaders Attempt to Convince Taliban to Surrender Kandahar
Aired November 17, 2001 - 09:00 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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: We are watching developments in Kandahar closely today. The Taliban say that they are still in control there, but the question is, for how long?
CNN's Carol Lin is monitoring political efforts to unseat the Taliban regime in Quetta, Pakistan. She joins us live with the latest. Carol?
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Marty. You're talking about a meeting of Afghan tribal leaders here in Quetta, which has been sending a series of delegations into Kandahar to try to convince senior members of the Taliban, including Mullah Omar, to give up their fight.
But there are conflicting reports coming out of Kandahar as to exactly who is in charge. Now, today, we spoke with Mullah Mulang. He is a tribal elder as part of this Afghan elder effort inside of Kandahar, he is also a former Pashtun commander. And this is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MULLAH MULANG, PASHTUN COMMANDER (through translator): In my opinion, the Taliban are still in control in Kandahar. They didn't leave. The opposition has captured some places outside of the city, but they have not taken Kandahar.
LIN (voice-over): Mullah Mulang tells us the Taliban spiritual leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, has changed Kandahar's leadership and given control to his deputies, Haji Bashar and Mullah Nakib (ph), both members of the Pashtun tribe. This is seen by Afghan tribal elders meeting across the border in Quetta as a strategic move to pacify these Pashtun tribesmen who are threatening to oust the Taliban by force.
Eighty Afghan tribal leaders, mostly former commanders in the war against the Soviets, sent a second delegation today to warn the Taliban if they do not surrender, the Afghan leaders will rally thousands of their armed tribesman in Afghanistan and go to war.
Pakistani political analyst Dr. Mansoor Kundi says historically, tribal law rules Afghanistan when there is chaos. MANSOOR AKBAR KUNDI, POLITICAL ANALYST: It was not difficult for tribal leaders to mobilize its own tribesmen against the central government in case there were things against them.
LIN: Mullah Mulang, known for fierce and brutal war tactics, says the future of Afghanistan depends on a peaceful transfer of power.
MULANG: Fighting is the very last resort. They don't have any other way. The Taliban have to surrender.
LIN: And if they do, these Afghan Pashtun leaders say they will not surrender political power to the Uzbeks and Tajiks of the Northern Alliance.
ENGINEER YUSEF PASHTOON, GUL AGHA FACTION SPOKESMAN: This is what we were afraid from the very beginning, because we thought that the political development for Afghan situation was far beyond -- behind the military.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And we just got an update on the political situation inside of Kandahar. One of the men that I mentioned to you, Haji Bashar, who is in charge of Kandahar right now, an associate of Mullah Omar, the spiritual leader for the Taliban, is also a Norzai (ph) tribesman, highly respected. And what we are learning that is happening right now inside of Kandahar is that the Norzai tribe is holding its own council meeting, a council of elders meeting, called a shura.
And what they have done, and what we are witnessing, according to this source, is that tribal law is now beginning to take over inside of Kandahar, trumping Taliban authority. The shura is meeting with the Norzai tribe, and the Norzai tribe is now delegating authority within the different provinces right around Kandahar.
What this means is, you technically have a member of the Taliban who is acting as the administrative head of Kandahar, but who is working with his own tribe in trying to divvy up power in that area.
Clearly, the Taliban may very well be losing control of the city as we speak -- Marty.
SAVIDGE: That's a very interesting development, Carol, thanks very much for bringing it to us. Carol Lin, live in Quetta, Pakistan.
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