Afghanistan's Rabbani Government To Create Regular Army

The Burhanuddin Rabbani government in Afghanistan has embarked on the creation of a regular standing army. The leadership of the Taliban opposition, Northern Alliance, is gradually replacing its mujaheddin formations with the so-called government forces. According to Chief of Staff of the Afghanistan's Military Forces General Asef Delavar, at the first stage, they have created general headquarters reserve forces: one mechanized tank brigade and several infantry units. The government forces also include the aircraft and helicopter fleet, the entire heavy artillery, and all types of tanks and infantry combat vehicles. The structure of the government forces fully copies that of the previous Afghan army, which was created at some point with the help of Soviet experts and based on the structure of Soviet units at the time. Regular officers, many of whom received their degrees in the Soviet Union, are recruited to head the government army. In accordance with the law of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, conscripts can be 20 to 25 years old. The army recruits men older than 25, but only on the contract basis. These men are usually former mujaheddin. The servicemen are given uniform and footwear. It is worth noting that the army is going to use commands from previous army regulations, all in the Pushtu language, even though Pushtu is not the native language of those fighting in the ranks of the anti-Taliban coalition. The coalition is mainly comprised of ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks. The creation of the regular army is a political move as well. After a coalition government was established in Kabul, the question of disbandment of mujaheddin formations of both the Taliban and the unified front has come up. This, the Northern Alliance envisages, should not affect the regular army of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, whose government has been officially recognized by the world community.