JALALABAD, Nov 17: The Eastern Zone Leadership Council on Saturday agreed to establish a broad-based, interim arrangement for the Nangarhar province headed by the former governor, Haji Abdul Qadeer.

The five-member council appointed Haji Mohammad Zaman corps commander and Commander Hazrat Ali, an ally of the Northern Alliance, security chief of the province bordering Pakistan. Maulvi Mulla Jan Shinwari was nominated deputy corps commander.

Functioning as a recommendatory body, the council was set up in Peshawar soon after the Northern Alliance forces captured Mazar-i-Sharif.

The Eastern Zone supreme council, comprising Haji Din Mohammad, Qazi Amin Waqad, Maulvi Fazl Hadi Shinwari, Maulvi Samiullah Najeebi and Mir Sameeul Haq, would also announce the interim setup for the another three Pakhtoon-dominated provinces — Kunar, Laghman and Nooristan — within next few days.

Talking to Dawn at the Governor’s House in Jalalabad, Haji Qadeer, Haji Zaman and Hazrat Ali said that they had accepted the council’s decision wholeheartedly and would work for peace and stability in the province.