January 24, 2002	Thursday	Ziqa’ad 9, 1422

ISLAMABAD, Jan 23: A warlord in Afghanistan’s eastern Khost province has seized control of most government offices in the provincial capital, amid fears that fighting might erupt in the town as he contested a rival’s claim to dominate the city, an Afghan news service reported on Wednesday.

The Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said forces loyal to commander Zakeem Khan have gained control of almost all state buildings in Khost’s provincial centre of the same name.

“We have also fixed our flag in front of the governor house,” AIP quoted Khan as making the claim from Khost, which is close to the Pakistani border.

AIP said the warlord rejected that his rival Pacha Khan Zadran dominated the town or headed the so-called eastern zone.

Zakeem Khan is a loyalist of Afghanistan’s former president Burhanuddin Rabbani and Zadran, a follower of the country’s exiled monarch, Zahir Shah.

Zadran was part of the intra-Afghan conference in the German city of Bonn which formulated the Hamid Karzai-led interim ruling setup for Afghanistan.

He claims to head the Shura of tribal elders and former mujahedin commanders that took over control of Khost immediately after the Taliban militia withdrew from there.

“Since yesterday the situation in Khost is tense. People are very apprehensive. There is a constant danger of fighting,” AIP quoted a Khost resident as saying.

The AIP said the Khost Shura had urged both Zadran and Zakeem Khan not to take further steps in their confrontation and demanded the central government send a delegation to take stock of the situation.—dpa