The Pakistan Observor reported in a story America falls into the trap that "Tajiks are busy consolidating their occupation of Kabul against the wishes of its multi-ethnic population. Burhanuddin Rabbani, the deposed president, finally arrived in the Afghan capital on Saturday. A top level Russian delegation will soon visit him to “legitimize” his presidential status. In the meantime, Tajik leaders have asked most British troops deployed Friday at the Bagram Airbase near Kabul, to pave the way for the resumption of humanitarian relief efforts, to leave Afghanistan." All this comes after U.S. forces bombed the Taliban front lines to allow the advance of the Alliance, who then ignored appeals to not enter Kabul and are also now apparently plotting to avoid forming a 'coalition' government representing the interests of all Afghans, fulfilling the worries of groups such as RAWA who suspected as much of the Alliance.

The Observor reports that "the Tajiks after capturing Kabul are now asking the very forces responsible for their entry into the capital city to leave Afghanistan. And yet the US-led coalition shows no reaction; and the UN would like to negotiate with the “Northern Alliance” leaders for establishing a “broad-based” government in Afghanistan." The author of the report suspects that somehow the 'great game' is being played in Afghanistan, with Russia and Iran both manipulating the situation."when the Tajik leaders ask the British troops to leave Bagram, the message is that the Americans should not poke their nose in the matter of whom forms the government in Kabul. Largely unaware of the Afghan reality, where treachery is a hallmark of social life, Washington continues to pursue its single-focused crusade inside the country ... to their utter surprise, the Americans may soon discover the very forces they speak high of today—just as President Reagan used to call the Afghan Mujahideen as the “followers” of American founding fathers—turning against them. The beginning to this effect has already been made with the Tajim order regarding the British troops withdrawal from the Bagram base."

In a piece the role of the Afghan warlords in the conflict, it was reported that "The United States Special Forces are working with Pashtun rebel leaders to stoke an insurrection against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. Among the prominent Pashtun rebel leaders are Mohammad Yunis Khales, local warlords who owe allegiance to the notorious exiled warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Hamed Karzai and Haji Abdul Qadir. The danger a factional fight amongst the various warlords looms large if a struggle for power breaks out in the eventuality of a delay in establishing a broad-based Afghan government."

"Khales, 80, a Pashtun mujahideen leader, who remained in Jalalabad throughout the Taliban's rule, has reportedly proclaimed himself as the governor ... Now a genocidal spectre hangs over this eastern city because a spokesperson of Khales has warned, "Neither the Northern Alliance (NA) nor anybody else should try to enter Nangarhar."

"Hekmatyar, presently based in Mashad, Iran, is reportedly upset about the NA capture of Kabul ... Hekmatyar was the main recipient of the military aid offered by Western and Muslim countries to the Afghan resistance forces. After withdrawal of Soviet troops, he allied himself with Tanai, a well-known member of the Khalq Party, and staged a failed coup against Dr Najibullah's government in 1990. After Najibullah's fall, Hekmatyar and his party were involved in a bitter and destructive civil war against the late Ahmad Shah Massoud's forces over control of Kabul."

"In Taliban stronghold Uruzgan province, another Pashtun rebel leader, Hamed Karzai, is reportedly striking a deal with Taliban commanders to defect along with their forces. ... Karzai, 42, inherited the title "khan" (head) of the 500,000-strong Popolzai. "

"The Kunar province has been reportedly taken over by the forces of Hasrat Ali, a commander who maintained a pocket of armed resistance to the Taliban. Ali is loyal to Haji Abdul Qadir, former governor of Jalalabad ... Jalalabad might become the flashpoint for factional feud amongst the rebel Pashtun leaders. Things are also in great ferment in western Afghanistan, with General Ismail Khan slashing his way through Taliban defences, after capturing the city of Herat."

"Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was Afghanistan's president-in-exile has redeclared himself as president, and has reportedly reached Kabul. But a prominent NA leader, Younus Qanooni, has warned that Rabbani is not acceptable as president. Qanooni was a very close aide to Ahmad Shah Massoud. During the 1980s, he was in charge of the relation between the Jami'at-i-Islami, which is led by Rabbani, and the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence, Pakistan) who provided them with money and weapons."

"Afghanistan is now in the hands of warlords, parcelled and carved up in accordance with the territories they control. International efforts to facilitate the creation of an interim broad-based government in Kabul have not been able to unify the various Afghan ethnicities. A group of Afghan expatriates led by King Zahir Shah has been desperately trying to forge a pan-Afghan nationalistic government, which will engage in rebuilding the war-ravaged country. The United Nations and the US have appointed point-persons to bring all warring Afghan factions together."

"The problem in forming a broad-based government reflects the classic challenge that has troubled Afghanistan's nationhood - how to unify the disparate tribes and ethnicities. The Taliban are Pashtuns, and Pashtuns comprise 40 per cent of the Afghan population. The rest of the population are composed of other ethnicities, like the Afghan Tajiks, Afghan Uzbeks, Hazaras and Ismailis. The Pashtuns themselves are split along tribal and clan lines, and spill over on either side of the Durrand Line dividing Pakistan and Afghanistan."

"This kind of factional intra-Afghan bloodbath will be reminiscent of a clash between the combined forces of General Abdul Rashid Dostum (Uzbek) and Commander Ahmad Shah Massoud (Tajik) against Pathan commander of Hizb-i-Islami, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, in 1992."

The Independent in Britain reported that Feared warlord threatens march on stronghold ... "One of Afghanistan's most feared warlords, already in control of Herat, last night threatened to march on the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. The mujahedin commander and ethnic Tajik leader Ismail Khan declared yesterday that he intended to march on the Taliban's spiritual home and occupy it if necessary. The prospect of the Taliban's old enemy heading towards them may have help persuade the leadership to abandon the city in the hope its population would be spared. Khan was driven out of Herat in 1995, jailed by the Taliban in 1997, but escaped last year in a now-legendary feat. Under constant bombardment from American warplanes for weeks now – US jets hit the Taliban foreign ministry building and a mosque yesterday. ... A ferocious battle for the city had seemed inevitable with an array of tribal leaders vying for control of the city ... armed followers of the tribal leader Hamid Karzai and the former Kandahar governor, Gul Agha ... US bombs damaged at least one hospital (in Kandahar). Those arriving in Quetta said there was plenty of food in Kandahar, though many people could not afford to buy it ... others were just as worried by rumours that Northern Alliance forces might be heading toward Kandahar. "They prefer the Taliban over the Northern Alliance because at least the Taliban brought peace," Lalai said."

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