Article: IRAN: TENSION MOUNTS AS AFGHAN LOYA JIRGA APPROACHES.

Mohammad Ismail Qasimyar, chairman of the 21-member committee creating the ground rules for the Loya Jirga or grand council that will appoint the next Afghan government, said in late February that there would be at least 500 people in that body. Now it is reported that there will be more than three times that number on that body -- 1,051 people representing the country's districts and 450 people appointed by and from groups determined by Qasimyar's committee. The Loya Jirga must meet by 22 June, and the tensions over its membership, about the future role of former monarch Mohammad Zahir Shah, and about Afghanistan's future leadership, are becoming palpable. Afghan ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!