afghanistanit demilitarized; a promise that was never going to be honoured for every
commander knew that whoever took Kabul would have the upper hand
when it came to the formation of a post-Taliban administration. Fahim’s
breach of faith was the first of many broken promises and agreements that
the new administration made to the usa, un and other coalition partners.
Vendrell was therefore faced with having to make the best of what he
euphemistically called the ‘new symmetry’. 15 Even before the Afghan dele-
gates arrived in Bonn, they were fighting each other. If this were not bad
enough, the conference took place during the fasting month of Ramazan.
In practice, the ‘new symmetry’ meant that the discussions were not about
negotiating a peace or inclusive government, but for the assembled Afghans
to agree to a ‘road map’ to elections that would take place three years later.
The negotiations therefore were primarily about cobbling together some
sort of power-sharing agreement between the factions represented at the
conference, most of whom represented the mujahidin militias who had
When in November
2002 Jami‘at-i Islami
was restored to power,
its leaders actively
promoted the cult of
Ahmad Shah Mas‘ud.
This huge painting
of Mas‘ud in Mazar-i
Sharif, set up for the
Nauroz celebrations,
depicts Mas‘ud
walking through a
field of wild tulips,
a traditional symbol
of martyrdom.