TIME: In Kandahar, Power
Fills a Vacuum
Thursday, January 03, 2002
By MICHAEL WARE
On Wednesday night the bandits came, brandishing
rifles and flashing knives. In Kandahar's outer
suburb of Manan Medical, 15 men smashed doors at one
mudbrick house after another. Shir Mohammed's
weaponless neighbors were robbed with blades to their
throats. At 3 a.m. the thieves were at his house,
tying up his guest and demanding cash. A businessman
in a city of paupers, Shir admits "my guests have
money, as do I." Shir's relatives fought back. They
stirred into a one-family posse; the running gun
battle lasting until dawn. The morning sun chased the
robbers to their safe house — police headquarters.
In this city, where government salaries are not
reliable incomes, perhaps the police saw the raid as
a bit of tax collection. "It's what the people have
been afraid of," says a shopkeeper. It might have
stopped there, were this not an excuse to settle a
few things.
Kandahar is a polarized city; governor Gul Agha
Sherzai has the title, but not all the power. In this
new and unsettled post-Taliban Afghanistan, a
soldier's loyalty often lies not with the governor,
but with the commander who lent him to the
government. It's not a stable system, especially now
that noses are out of joint over the gubernatorial
appointment. And so the robbers, branded as Sherzai's
Pakistani recruits, were besieged at 7 a.m. by
mujahedin, many from rival factions. Kalashnikovs
began barking back and forth, soon joined by salvos
of rocket propelled grenades, the explosions
resonating through the waking city. There was little
strategy behind the assault, and controlled fire
wasn't a feature. Lurking behind corners, or popping
out windows, the fighters sprayed rounds, oblivious
to curious market shoppers. The exchange was won by
weight of numbers; more fire poured in than came out.
The crack of grenades brought a lull.
At that point there was talk of negotiation.
Commander Mullah Gul Akhund, fresh from Kabul, did
not like the idea: "I would rather kill them." A few
shots inside the headquarters were the final word.
Minutes later two men were whisked away. The crowds
dispersed and the mujahedin relaxed. Throughout the
day short bursts or single shots could be heard
coming from the area, but fighting didn't resume.
Kabul is more controlled, but perhaps no less tense.
Until last week Akhund worked there for Hamid Karzai,
head of the country's interim government. He paints a
similar picture of the capital; Karzai is in charge,
but might is wielded by Uzbeks and Tajiks of the
Northern Alliance. Different worlds are colliding,
and the groups from north must cope with Pashtuns
from the south. Discussions are said to be ongoing
with defense minister Mohammed Fahim, of the Northern
Alliance, to forge a durable arrangement. Says
Akhund, "Only a few Pashtuns remain with Karzai for
his protection." It will be better when he doesn't
need them.