A high-powered US Congressional delegation mingled with Afghan military commanders and opposition leaders at the residence in Rome of ex-Afghan king Mohammed Zahir Shah early Sunday.
The United States is backing an attempt by disparate opposition groups to build a broad coalition around the popular 86-year-old ex-monarch which would form a post-Taliban government in the Central Asian country.
The opposition, including members of the Northern Alliance, which is fighting a civil war against the ruling fundamentalist group, met in congress at a Roman hotel on Saturday night to discuss the formation of a supreme council.
The council, which would convene under the auspices of the ex-king, would govern a post-Taliban Afghanistan for an interim period until democratic elections would be held, opposition sources told AFP.
They said they were confident that the Taliban would either collapse or be ousted militarily.
The 11-member Congressional delegation were present at the start of Saturday's meeting, but left the room shortly afterwards.
Afghan commanders told AFP they would tell the US officials they did not want a US military strike in Afghanistan, but rather military aid in order to oust the Taliban themselves.
Afghanistan is thought to be the likely site of US reprisal strikes in response to the September 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington.
The US delegation includes Californian Republican Dana Rohrabacher, vice-chairman of the House's East Asia and Pacific subcommittee, Republican Curt Weldon, chairman of the Armed Services Military Readiness subcommittee, and the subcommittee's ranking Democrat Solomon Ortiz.
They had already held meetings in Moscow with Russian officials to discuss Washington's anti-terror campaign and other strategic defense issues.
They were to hold a news conference later Sunday before leaving Italy.
The Afghan delegation includes Northern Alliance figures Yunis Qanuni and commander Aref Khan Nurzai, as well as commanders of independent, non-aligned groups.
One representative of the eastern Namgarhar region, Mohammad Zaman -- who is exiled in France -- said further meetings would take place later Sunday to summarize the progress made so far.
The deposed king has been exiled in Rome since 1973 after he was ousted in a coup -- ROME (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
