Afghanistan's ambassador in London said yesterday that up to 260 people, many from a hardline Islamic faction opposed to the government, had been arrested over a bomb plot in Kabul.
"They are as many as 260 people," said Mr Wali Masood, adding that many of them belonged to the Hezb-i-Islami party, including the party's former intelligence chief, Mr Wahidullah Sabaoon. Mr Sabaoon "is also among them. They had a programme of assassinations, explosions and abductions aimed at destabilising Kabul," the ambassador said.
The plot, uncovered on Thursday, only focused on Kabul as "Hezb's intelligence network is not so big" as to cause trouble throughout Afghanistan, he said, claiming the "plot was neutralised in time".
Mr Sabaoon was formerly chief of the intelligence network of Mr Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb- i-Islami party, and was a rival to the powerful Jamiat faction's slain military leader, Ahmad Shah Masood, the ambassador's brother. He later joined Masood in a coalition to fight against the now toppled Taliban regime which kicked Jamiat out of power in 1996. "That is another issue, to what extent he took part in the resistance," Mr Wali Masood added.
However, the ambassador's comments come amid criticism that Mr Masood's faction, which holds the key ministries of defence, interior and foreign affairs, might have concocted the plot to defame their traditional rivals before the Loya Jirga, or tribal assembly, planned for June, which is due to choose a transitional government for Afghanistan.
The arrests may inflame ethnic tensions between Mr Hekmatyar's Pashtun followers and the Northern Alliance, which is dominated by minority Tajiks and controls key ministries in Kabul. Some Pashtuns - Afghanistan's largest ethnic group - may see the arrests as an attempt to stifle moves towards Pashtun unity ahead of the Loya Jirga.
Mr Hekmatyar, who was vilified for a bloody siege of Kabul from 1992 to 1996, has gone into hiding since he was expelled from his refuge in Iran under US pressure this year, the ambassador said.
Officials in Kabul had earlier confirmed the arrest of scores of Mr Hekmatyar's followers while a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said ISAF had been told that the government had arrested around 300 people in a series of raids. "The total is around 300 but we don't know the reason for the raids," said Lieut-Col Neal Peckham.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that "hundreds" of political opponents plotting a bombing campaign against the interim cabinet and ex-king Mohammed Zahir Shah had been arrested. It quoted Afghan officials as saying the number of arrests ranged from more than 200 to over 700.
Leading figures within the ISAF in Kabul Friday called on Afghan authorities to explain the arrest of hundreds of men for reportedly plotting a "coup d'etat". The force, which is responsible for security in the Afghan capital, was not told in advance the reasons for the massive operation, said a spokesman. "If there was going to be some sort of coup, perhaps you should let us know about it," was how British Flight-Lieut Tony Marshall described the ISAF commanders' inquiry.
Meanwhile, a US military source said al-Qaeda and Taliban forces are offering $100,000 bounties for the capture of coalition soldiers in Afghanistan. Leaflets have been distributed in the eastern province of Paktia where US-led coalition forces are now concentrating their campaign against diehard enemy fighters, the US army spokesman said.
They pledge rewards of $100,000 for the capture of a coalition soldier and $50,000 for the killing of one, US officers said. - (AP, AFP, Reuters)