Afghanistan peace talks reach final stretch as groups bend to U.S. pressure

KOENIGSWINTER, Germany -- Talks on Afghanistan's future hit the final stretch Tuesday as Afghan factions and U.N. mediators turned to filling seats for an interim administration. \nDiplomats said distributing ministerial posts in the interim government could take a day or two. But talks were rejuvenated here after all four factions agreed on a U.N.-drafted framework for a 29-member interim governing body. \nStrong U.S. pressure on the northern alliance broke an impasse earlier Tuesday, with the northern alliance finally presenting its candidates for the interim administration, the missing link in the talks, now in their eighth day. \nDuring the night's tense diplomacy, a U.S. official called the northern alliance's titular head, Burhanuddin Rabbani, in Kabul to press him not to risk the collapse of talks. \nAfter jubilant celebrations for the political agreement, U.N. mediators grappled Tuesday with the names, a total of around 150 candidates, submitted by the northern alliance, a delegation loyal to the exiled former Afghan king and two smaller exile groups. \n"This is a very difficult hurdle," U.N. spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said. But "now we have a roadmap to a free and independent Afghanistan over a period of 2 1/2 years, leading, we hope, to a new constitution and free and fair election," he said. \nSome diplomats said a signing ceremony could be held as early as Wednesday or Thursday. \nConcerns also focus on the date for a transfer of power, which was not set in the U.N. framework. Those worries have been heightened amid signs of differences within the northern alliance. Rabbani, a former Afghan president, is portrayed by Western diplomats as reluctant to be shunted aside by a younger generation of leaders. \nFawzi said the U.N. mediators will consult Tuesday on the handover with Rabbani, and he appealed to the alliance leader "to continue supporting the Bonn process until the successful conclusion of the transfer of power." \nIn Kabul, the alliance's foreign minister, Abdullah, said the 29-member council would include one woman and have a plurality of Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group. \nHe said the new administration would reflect the proportions of Afghanistan's diverse ethnic makeup: Pashtuns representing 38 percent of the population; Tajiks, 27 percent; Hazaras, 17 percent and Uzbeks, six percent. Afghanistan has not had a census for decades, and Abdullah said those were the statistics the alliance had.