Loya Jirga participants to be targeted: Taliban

KABUL on the proposed strategic cooperation pact with the United States.

More than 2,000 government officials and tribal elders are scheduled to meet in mid-November in Kabul to discuss the pros and cons of the agreement.

Convening at the Polytechnic University on November 16, the jirga will confer on a mechanism for peace negotiations with the insurgents.

All sitting parliamentarians, some former MPs, 30 percent members of each provincial council, representatives of civil society and special people, religious scholars and influential tribal elders will attend the event.

On September 13, President Hamid Karzai’s national security advisor told lawmakers the US might set up military bases in Afghanistan after the signing of the accord.

Testifying before senators after his return from a visit to the US, Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta said the accord would not be inked unless approved by Parliament.

The militants would target participants, who would face severe repercussions, in every corner of the country, said Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the rebel movement.

In a statement, Mujahid said: “The Islamic Emirate wants to warn every person who wants to participate in this so-called jirga that such traitors will be pursued by mujahideen of Islamic Emirate…”

He accused the Karzai administration of abusing the much-respected traditional forum and trying to give a legal cover to permanent US military bases in the country.

pr/mud