BBC News Online: World: South Asia

Rabbani 'still Afghan president'

Rabbani backs the UN-sponsored conference

The ousted President of Afghanistan, Burhanuddin Rabbani, has said that his government is the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

Speaking in a BBC interview, Mr Rabbani, who lost power to the Taleban in 1996, said his government is still recognised by the United Nations.

Until another government was established, he said, his administration should be recognised as valid.

But he added that supported the idea of holding a loya jirga or national council in which all the different tribes and ethnic groups in Afghanistan would sit down and make a decision regarding the future leadership of the country.

Speaking about the forthcoming UN-sponsored conference of Afghan parties in Germany, Mr Rabbani said that it would be a good first step on the road towards establishing peace and stability.

But he also said it would be impossible to sort out all of Afghanistan's problems in just one meeting.

Asked whether there was a risk that the country would revert to a period of factional fighting, Mr Rabbani said that the defence ministry in Kabul planned to bring together all the various commanders who now controlled different parts of the country so that they could form a council and avoid any repetition of what happened in the past.