Afghan Representative In The United Nations Organization: President Rabbani Will Resign If Not Democratically Elected

On Saturday permanent representative of the Islamic state of Afghanistan in the United Nations Organization Ravan Farhadi in his interview to a Lebanese newspaper stated that President of Afghanistan Burhanuddin Rabbani would vacate his post if not democratically elected. He stressed that the Northern Alliance advocated the creation of a new government of the country on the extended basis. It would comprise those Afghan representatives who did not take part in anti-Taliban resistance, as well as renowned Afghan public figures residing in Pakistan. In the opinion of Farhadi, former King Zahir Shah would not come back to power as he "does not want to restore monarchy" in the country. According to the assessment of the Afghan representative in the United Nations, there are currently 10,000 people within the ranks of the Taliban including Pakistanis, Chechens, Uzbeks, Arabs. According to Farhadi, Osama bin Laden is hiding in one of the caves, probably, in the area to the east of Jelalabad. The Afghan representative stated that after final elimination of the Taliban and foreign mercenaries "we would not need" the presence of international military forces to maintain peace.