October 10, 2001. Copyright, 2001, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Former king offers hope for future peace
By Elisabeth Ribbans

LONDON, October 10, Graphic News:  IT IS MORE than 28 years since King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan made an unintended one-way trip to Italy. What was meant to be a short visit for hospital treatment turned into permanent exile when his cousin, Mohamed Daoud, launched a palace coup, abolishing the monarchy and appointing himself president. Since then, the toppled monarch has been forced to watch from a distance as his relatively peaceful, prosperous and progressive kingdom was dragged back to the dark ages: first by the autocratic and isolationist Daoud; then by a decade of brutal Soviet occupation followed by civil war; and lately by the ideologically unforgiving Taliban. Between 1995 and 2000, life expectancy in Afghanistan was the lowest of any non-African country, while in the entire world only Sierra Leone has a higher rate of infant mortality.

The plight of his homeland has frequently spurred the former king to action. In 1999, he called a meeting of opposition forces in Rome in a bid to produce a peace plan for AfghanistanÕs warring factions. As recently as June this year, he appealed to the UN for an increase in aid for the people whose suffering had, he said, reached Òcolossal proportionsÓ.

Now, as he approaches his 87th birthday on October 15, the ex-king senses a chance to do more. His offer to return as the figurehead of a broad-based secular assembly is being considered as a serious option by the U.S., Britain and the UN. He insists his aim is not to restore the monarchy Ð only to assist in a transition to democracy. The idea has crucially received support from the Northern Alliance, the armed opposition force that controls a tenth of the country. Pro-monarchists have already been hauled off to jail and Taliban officials have made clear that the king risks death if he returns. But the aged Zahir has said he has little to lose.

Mohammed Zahir Shah was born in Kabul in 1914, a member Ð like most of todayÕs Taliban Ð of the majority Pushtu people. Educated in Afghanistan and France, he ascended the throne just after his 19th birthday, following the assassination of his father. Although factionalism simmered beneath the surface of Afghan political life, his 40-year reign was characterized by tolerance, social reform, economic progress and pro-Western diplomacy. In 1964, he introduced a new constitution that provided for free elections, a free press and the emancipation of women. It is an era many Afghans remember with fondness. A U.S. State Department poll, conducted inside Afghanistan this summer, claimed the former king commanded the support of around half the population, compared to a mere 11 percent backing for Taliban leader Muhammad Omar.

There has been intermittent speculation of the exiled kingÕs return ever since the Soviets withdrew in 1989; but it has never looked so possible as now. Nevertheless, obstacles remain. Hostility to the notion from neighbouring Pakistan Ð whose consent is seen as vital to any new arrangements in Kabul Ð has yet to be fully dampened. And while Zahir has for decades called for international assistance, not interference, in AfghanistanÕs affairs Ð a perceived over-association with Western authorities could affect his support. The coming weeks will decide whether, after decades among the gentle hills of Rome, the octogenarian ever again sees the rocky mountains of his homeland.
/ENDS