BONN, Nov 26: Preliminary talks on setting up a new Afghan government began on a note of urgency in Germany on Monday, on the eve of a UN-sponsored conference seen as a historic opportunity to end decades of bloodshed in Afghanistan.

“We need to get a transitional authority in the country as soon as possible. We can’t spend a lot of time on this,” UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi told a press conference.

“The people of Afghanistan have been disappointed in the past, we certainly hope they will not be disappointed again.”

Fawzi said delegates would first tackle the setting up of a “transitional administration”, an interim government that would pave the way for a Loya Jirga, or a ‘grand assembly’ of tribal chieftains, that would in turn convene to hammer out a new constitution.—AFP