Afghan Taliban replace unpopular Khost governor

Thursday, January 27 8:30 PM SGT

KHOST, Afghanistan, Jan 27 (AFP) - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia said Thursday they have replaced the governor of Khost after complaints about his rule.

The installation of Maulavi Shafiqullah Mohammadi as the new governor four days ago appears to be the first time the Islamic fundamentalists have replaced a governor because of his unpopularity.

People from the city, near the Pakistan border in eastern Afghanistan, presented the Taliban with a list of demands two weeks ago, locals said.

Tribal leaders have also been talking with senior Taliban officials who visited the city to try to resolve the problem.

Although the people of Khost are ethnic Pashtuns, like the Taliban, they come from the Ghalzai tribe. Most of the Taliban are from the Durani tribe.

Abdul Hamid, a wood trader in the city, said the people have demanded the Taliban stop selling local public land and start spending tax revenues on reconstruction projects in Khost.

"State land should not be sold anymore our tax revenues should be spent on our own reconstruction," Hamid told AFP.

"They sell our land and take the money to Kandahar," he said, referring to the home of the Taliban headquarters.

"The people of Khost should not be conscripted. The call of the oppressed should be heard."

Another man in the city, Haji Maghfoor Shah, who runs a flour shop, said the last governor was little liked.

"There were complaints about the previous governor, but we do not have any complaints about the Islamic Emirate," he said, using the name by which the Taliban refer to their government.

"State land should not be sold but we are happy with the Taliban." Others said the Taliban had brought a measure of security to their lives.

If their demands were not met people from the city would travel to Kandahar and the capital Kabul for further talks, they said.

More than 2,000 gathered in the city's main mosque Thursday, where senior Taliban officials spoke to the crowds.

Amir Khan Muttaqi, former Taliban information minister, dismissed reports of an uprising in the area.

"Plots were hatched outside the country to show the security had worsened and that there are differences between the people and the government," he said.

Tribal chiefs were brought before the crowd and said they had no quarrel with the Taliban.

"The Taliban saved Afghanistan from partition and restored peace and security. Nobody can rise against the Taliban," said Tahir Khan, a local chief.

Khost is a relatively rich city, 350 kilometres (220 miles) east of Kabul. Shops here are full of electrical goods, food and clothes, much of which is imported from Pakistan.

But women are hardly seen on the city streets.

Under the Taliban's strict interpretation of Islamic law women rarely leave their homes.

Khost has strategic importance. Tribes here have historically played a vital role in forming goverments and the former king Zaher Shah has strong connections in the area.

Tribal culture here is often violent, many of the tribes are armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles.

"We cannot go to remote districts in case there is a problem between two tribes. They are armed with heavy weapons and use them against each other," said one Khost official, who declined to be named.

After the meeting at the mosque the Taliban released a statement insisting there was no tension in the city.

"There is no difference between the people of Khost and the Islamic Emirate and we are living like brothers," it said.

"The people of the southern provinces, particulary the people of Khost, strongly deny global propaganda and they are against any government which is imposed from outside, including Zaher Shah," it said.