| Afghanistan |
| Karzai proposes Father of Nation title for Zahir Shah |
| 2002-06-11 |
| Afghanistan's interim leader Hamid Karzai on Tuesday proposed that former king Mohammed Zahir Shah be formally titled "Father of the Nation" and given a series of important ceremonial responsibilities. "We would like to give him the title of 'Father of the Nation' but this has to be approved by the Loya Jirga," he said at the opening of the traditional gathering which will select a new transitional government for Afghanistan. Karzai, who is expected to be appointed head of state in the new administration, proposed seven jobs for the popular 87-year-old former monarch, who returned to his homeland in April after nearly 30 years in exile in Italy. The first three are for him to inaugurate the Loya Jirga, the National Council -- or parliament -- and the drafting of the constitution. The fourth is his participation at the "highest level" on national days, meaning that events mandated under state protocol, like inspecting the national guard, will be presided over by the ex-king. The fifth and sixth are that he acts as "the upholder of peace" in the nation, and be responsible for the conferring of state titles and medals. Finally, Karzai proposed that after the week-long Loya Jirga, Zahir Shah again take up residence at the presidential palace where he lived for 60 years before his ouster. Uh, Hamid? It sounds like you've just described what a constitutional monarch does. Only difference is that he won't be head of state... |
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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan king to urge anti-Taliban uprising |
| 2001-09-30 |
| Washington Times Afghanistan's former king Mohammed Zahir Shah is expected to urge the Afghan people to rise up against their Taliban rulers in a message to be released within the next 48 hours, his grandson Prince Musatapha Zahir Shah indicated to ABC television Sunday. The king expects to return to the country he left 27 years ago as a constitutional monarch with the help of the United States and anti-Taliban rebels, his grandson said. "The king will be making a very important statement in the next 48 hours," said Shah when asked if the deposed monarch was to make a formal declaration that the Afghan people should rise up and remove the Taliban from power. King Zahir, who ruled Afghanistan for 40 years, has been living outside Rome since 1973 when his cousin Mohammed Dawood ousted him. In a brief message in Afghanistan's Dari language, the former king said "disunity has caused a lot of problems in Afghanistan and we have to unite and cooperate with each other in order to take our country forward." |
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| Afghanistan |
| Zahir Shah ready to accept role as head of state |
| 2002-05-28 |
| Former Afghan king Mohammed Zahir Shah told AFP that he would accept a nomination to become the country's head of state at next month's Loya Jirga as he backed Hamid Karzai to continue leading the government. "I will accept the responsibility of head of state if that is what the Loya Jirga demands of me but I have no intention to restore the monarchy," he said. "I do not care about the title of king. The people call me Baba (the Dari for Papa) and I prefer this title. The period of royalty is past." Since he's 87 years old, this might be considered an interim measure... The Loya Jirga is due to convene in Kabul from June 10 to select a transitional government to run Afghanistan for up to two years. The 87-year-old also said it was "essential" that interim leader Karzai retained his position as head of government at the assembly. "I think that in this situation that it is essential he remains in his post. It would be very natural if he were to lead the next government," said Zahir Shah. Dostum or Ismael Khan would probably be a better choice, but neither has the backing of the Pashtuns, who are the problem, not the solution... Karzai has built up a close relationship with his fellow Pashtun Zahir Shah in the past few months and is known to be a frequent visitor to the ex-king's residence in the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. "I like him very much," Zahir Shah said of Karzai. "He has many assets. He is honest and a nice man. We are good friends." In Afghanistan, being "nice" doesn't work well. Being honest doesn't help much, either. But without a national army and/or an internal security force to back him up, being nice and friendly has pretty much been the only tool he's had. We'll see what happens when there's a thicker layer of legitimacy over him and there are more guns available. |
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| Afghanistan |
| Snuffies may pose as journalists to kill Afghan ex-king |
| 2002-04-20 |
That's the way they finally got Masood. |
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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan leaders queue up for audience with former king |
| 2002-04-19 |
This is really the only guy in Afghanistan today who has any pretense of legitimacy, so... Italy's Deputy Foreign Minister Margharita Boniva, who accompanied Zahir Shah on his return, told reporters here late Thursday that his homecoming had been postponed due to intelligence of an assassination plot. "The threats were not only to his life when he would arrive but during the flight and especially during the landing part of the trip. Quite obviously we could not ignore that sort of intelligence," she said. Asked if the threat was from Taliban and al-Qaeda supporters, Boniva said the intelligence report "did mention terrorist attacks coming possibly from al-Qaeda -- a lot were from abroad". The Talibs and al-Qaeda will be jumping through hoops to try and get a few rounds through the old man. So will Hekmatyar, Rasool Sayyaf, and possibly Rabbani. Plus some other fellows who want to be in the same class. But other than the heavy security presence around his home here Friday, the only other people outside were regional dignitaries hoping to wish Zahir Shah a warm welcome. Mohammad Ali Jalali, governor of the eastern province of Paktika, was one of a group of senior leaders expecting to speak with the ex-king. "I will not be making any request of him. I just want to welcome him back to his home," Jalali told AFP as he waited patiently under a tree by Zahir Shah's residence in the up-market Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood. "He is the one man who can join all the ethnic groups of Afghanistan together again. There is no one else who can fulfill that role. It's curious, but when he was in Italy, out of sight, out of mind, there wasn't much to him. Just having him back in the country increases his following. Guess everyone can hope. |
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| Afghanistan |
| Northern Alliance sends delegation to Rome to meet with King |
| 2001-10-11 |
Northern Alliance leaders have acknowledged the concerns of the United States, and promised not to seize power only for themselves if the Taliban regime falls, but to try to create a broad interim coalition and then hold elections, perhaps in two years. The alliance sent a delegation to Rome to meet with former king Mohammed Zahir Shah, who was deposed in 1973 and lived in exile ever since, as well as other key leaders of the Afghan diaspora. The king's representatives will participate in the upcoming conference, called a supreme council, involving 120 delegates. The council might call a loya jirga, or grand assembly, to formally resolve the makeup of a future government. |
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| Afghanistan |
| Royalist envoys meet with Paks |
| 2001-10-15 |
Special envoys from former Afghan king Mohammed Zahir Shah Monday began talks with Pakistani leaders on any post-Taliban scenario in Afghanistan. A Pakistani foreign ministry official said former Afghan foreign minister Hedayat Amin Arsala was leading the delegation, which is also understood to include Haji Abdul Khaleq Farahi and Rahim Sherzoy. He said the former king's envoys had started talks with Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar and were scheduled to meet President Pervez Musharraf later in the afternoon. The discussions come hours before the arrival here of US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Powell will meet Musharraf to discuss the US-led military action against the Taliban militia and alleged terrorists based in Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan's tense relations with nuclear rival India. Details of Powell's itinerary have been kept secret amid fears of reprisals for US air strikes against the Taliban, now in their second week. Powell is also expected to visit New Delhi en route to the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum in Shanghai. Zahir Shah's delegation left Rome on Saturday night carrying a message to the Pakistani leader from the former king who has lived in Italy since his ouster in a coup in 1973. Musharraf earlier this month invited Zahir Shah to send a mission to discuss a post-Taliban Afghanistan should the ruling militia be toppled by the current US-led military strikes. But royal family sources said the visit had upset the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance which blames Pakistan for supporting the Taliban since its emergence in 1994. |
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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan royalist in Islamabad for talks |
| 2001-11-05 |
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