Afghan Province Of Farah Comes Under Control Of Local Population

Farah, another southwestern province of Afghanistan, which is mainly inhabited by Pashtoons has come under the control of the local Shura /a council of the elders of tribes/. According to the Dawn newspaper, Mullah Sayed Mohammad, the Taliban governor, has left the province. According to a Shura representative, former Colonel of the Afghan army Mohammad Ayaz Heiri, the Taliban have left their positions without fighting after negotiations with the leaders of local Pashtoons. A shura has been formed of 100 elders and field commanders in the province of Faryab in the country's northwest. The shura will control the territory until government bodies are elected. At the same time, the Pashtoon leaders have warned the ally of the Northern Alliance, Ismail Khan, who is controlling Herat, against deploying his units in Faryab. Thus, the Taliban are now controlling only three southern provinces - Kandahar, Zabol and Hilmend - and the last northern province, Kunduz, the Dawn says.