Afghans protest over US manipulation of summit influence at loya jirga

The warlords of Afghanistan rallied behind their interim leader, Hamid Karzai, yesterday in a display of unity that came after America engineered a climbdown by the country's former king.

Many tribal delegates attending the grand council, or loya jirga, called to pick the members of the new administration, expressed concern at the "outside influence" overshadowing the event. All were aware the American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, had been the first to announce the former king would stay out of government, after intense backroom politicking delayed the assembly opening by 24 hours. The king's decision means Mr Karzai has no serious challenger as president.

"This is not a democracy," Sima Samar, the women's affairs minister, said yesterday. "This is a rubber stamp. Everything has already been decided by the powerful ones."

The Americans wanted to make sure that demands from the assembly floor would not lead to the frail but popular former monarch, 87-year old Mohammed Zahir Shah, becoming head of state, with Mr Karzai as prime minister.

Zahir Shah told delegates he had no desire to restore the monarchy, and backed Mr Karzai, a fellow Pashtun, as president. "I am ready to help the people, and Hamid Karzai is my choice of candidate," he said. "I advise delegates to take into consideration the high interests of the people." But the political damage had already been done, because the 1,550 delegates attending the week-long jirga were the last to hear of the king's decision.

The minister for finance, Amin Arsala, said: "The king issue is not over. The words used by Hamid Karzai to the king were fine, but I'm not sure if this issue is solved. I'm not sure if this story is over."

Mr Karzai, who delivered his long speech with the confidence of a sitting president, piled honours on the former king, saying he would be known as the "father of the nation".

The loya jirga is expected to vote today on whether Mr Karzai, widely seen as a US stooge, should be re-elected to head the new government for the next two years until elections are organised. To aid unity in the ethnically divided cabinet and help smooth the way for Mr Karzai, the interior minister, Yunis Qanuni, an ethnic Tajik, offered his resignation. Burhanuddin Rabbani, the president of post- communist Afghan governments, also withdrew his candidacy for head of state and supported Mr Karzai.

Some delegates said they would rebel if the loya jirga continued to be dominated by speeches from the leaders, without giving those on the floor a voice. "There will be a backlash if they try to play tricks and games on us, if they don't let us speak," Mohammed Daoud, a Kabul delegate, said.

Kate Clark is a correspondent for the BBC