Afghan factions 'closer' to deal

The hopes of the next generation rest on the UN plan

Intense debate between Afghanistan's major factions over who will lead a new Afghan administration is continuing at talks being held near Bonn.

The two main factions at the UN-sponsored conference are reported to be edging closer to a settlement - but they have yet to agree on the cabinet which will be recognised internationally as Afghanistan's sovereign government.

Northern Alliance leaders have now said they will accept any one of four candidates to lead an interim administration.

Four candidates

Pir Sayed Ahmad Gailani

Hamid Karzai

Sibghatullah Mojaddedi

Abdul Sattar Sirat

The Northern Alliance decision comes after a meeting in Kabul headed by Afghanistan's former President, Burhanuddin Rabbani.

The UN spokesman at the conference, Ahmad Fawzi, said he doubted there would be an agreement before Tuesday.

Big donor countries say billions of dollars in reconstruction aid depend on a deal being reached.

One of the four candidates, Abdul Sattar Sirat, is a chief negotiator at the Bonn talks for the faction of former King Zahir Shah.

Other candidates acceptable to the Northern Alliance are Hamid Karzai, an influential Pashtun tribal leader, former Afghan President Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, and Pir Sayed Ahmed Gailani, a Pashtun spiritual leader.

It is not yet clear whom the Pastun delegation at the Bonn talks is likely to back.

Returning home

Present plans for a post-Taleban government involve an executive comprised of 20 to 30 people, headed by a chairman rather than a prime minister.

UN draft proposals

Interim authority to rule for six months

A supreme court to be set up

A 21-member special independent commission to call a Loya Jirga

Loya Jirga to elect transitional government

A multinational force to secure Kabul

UN proposals also include setting up a special independent commission to convene a Loya Jirga, or traditional grand assembly, presided over by the former king. The interim government will rule for six months until this is convened.

The assembly would then elect a transitional government to rule for about two years until a constitution is drawn up and elections are held.

Another measure is the creation of a supreme court, which correspondents say may be aimed at creating a role for Northern Alliance leader Burhanuddin Rabbani, whose opposition to some key decisions has delayed a final agreement.

Mr Fawzi is not expecting a deal before Tuesday

The UN also proposes a multinational peacekeeping force for Kabul, but does not stipulate the force's size, mandate or duration.

The text says peacekeepers would be deployed at the Afghan administration's request.

The Northern Alliance, which controls the capital Kabul, has softened its opposition to such a force.

But the BBC's Peter Biles in Bonn says one potential problem with the peacekeeping force lies in the fact that it will not be in place until some time after the creation of the new government.

He says that may concern members of the Pashtun community who will be reluctant to return home to Kabul without guarantees about their security.