Afghans Discuss Plans to Rebuild

About 300 Southern California Afghan Americans gathered Saturday in Buena Park for an unusual meeting that was reminiscent of a peace rally and a rousing political campaign as they discussed plans to rebuild Afghanistan.

Many enlisted to return there if the Taliban is overthrown, vowing to help restart schools, hospitals and a democratic government. They are resting their hopes on the deposed Afghan King Mohammad Zaher Shah, who is calling for an emergency loya jirga, or grand assembly, with a broad-based tribal government.

The council had been proposed to consist of 120 members, with representation from the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, Pushtuns and other Afghan tribes. On Saturday, allies of the exiled king called for expanding the group from 150 to 200 members to help form a temporary government.

The popular king is widely viewed as the only leader with the unifying power to return peace to the troubled country. Shah, 87, has agreed to serve as the symbolic figurehead, but said he would step aside after the election of a new leader.

“All the doors had closed. Only one door was there and behind that door was the king,” said Abdul Malek Siddiqi of San Diego, one of the meeting organizers and a former judge in Afghanistan.

“Only the door that led to Zaher Shah had to be opened. This is the will of the nation, and every eye of this nation is waiting for him to take over,” Siddiqi said.

Shah, who ascended to the throne when he was 19, took the country’s helm in 1933 when his father was assassinated. He reigned for 30 years, then was overthrown in 1973 by his cousin Sardar Mohammad Daoud. He has not stepped foot in Afghanistan since the coup.

The king’s grandson and special assistant, Prince Mostapha Zaher, said in an earlier telephone interview from Rome that the king is willing and able to serve.

“His majesty is in good mental and physical health despite his age,” Zaher said. “He is doing remarkably well.”

The younger Zaher was expected to address Saturday’s gathering by speaker phone as part of an effort to rally support for the king’s peace plan, but did not at the last moment. He said he has begun compiling lists of volunteers willing to help bring peace to Afghanistan.

“I sincerely believe that it is the duty of every Afghan man and woman to aid in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan,” Zaher said. “So far, the response has been very positive. I’m confident that many Afghans will accept the risks involved and will assist in the very difficult task of rebuilding Afghanistan’s shattered infrastructure.”

But before rebuilding can begin, many Afghans were seeking assurances Saturday that peace will prevail--that the United States and other countries won’t neglect Afghanistan after the fighting stops.

One of the king’s assistants, former Afghanistan Minister of Justice Abdul Sattar Sirat, a professor, told the crowd via telephone from Rome that the king is negotiating with the United Nations to support a security coalition that would form a “backbone of peace.”

Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton), who attended Saturday’s meeting, said the United States has a duty to “right a wrong.” The United States has pledged $320 million in humanitarian assistance.

“We owe--and the world owes--the Afghan people,” Royce said. “We must make sure we go forward and do not make the mistakes of the past.”

The Bush administration has said it doesn’t want to repeat a U.S. peacekeeping role as in Bosnia and Kosovo. Royce said one solution is to have Afghan troops backed by the United Nations.

Several people also questioned the roles of Pakistan, India and Iran in the nation-building process. On that point, Royce’s answer met applause and a standing ovation.

“We want the leaders of other countries in that region to get out and stay out as we rebuild Afghanistan,” he said. “Let’s stay the course. Let’s see this through.”