January 24, 2002	Thursday	Ziqa’ad 9, 1422

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QUETTA, Jan 23: Forces loyal to governor of Kandahar Gul Agha Sherzai and Hizb-i-Islami chief Gulbadeen Hikmatyar have taken positions against each other near Kandahar city.

A senior commander of the interim government’s forces said that a three-day ultimatum had been given to the rival commanders to surrender their weapons.

This situation emerged after serious differences arose between governor Kandahar Gul Agha and local commanders of Hizb- i-Islami Hikmatyar group over the issue of disarming the tribal groups in Southern Afghanistan.

A prominent commander of Hizb-i-Islami, Mullah Abdul Razaq and some other commanders have refused to accept Kandahar administration’s decision to disarm tribal groups.

“We are not ready to hand over our weapons to the armed men of Gul Agha,” commander Mullah Abdul Razaq said.