Hundreds arrested in connection with plot to undermine Afghan regime
Officials in Afghanistan have revealed that hundreds of people have been arrested in Kabul in the past week in connection with an alleged plot to destabilise the interim administration installed by the United Nations last year.
The Afghan Interior Ministry said the plot included plans to detonate bombs throughout the capital in an attempt to undermine the new Government, led by Prime Minister Hamid Karzai.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said most of those arrested were linked to the Hezb-e-Islami, a political group led by former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force in the country said around 300 people were arrested in the past six or seven days, including 12 last night.
The peacekeepers were not involved in the operation, but were given details of the planned arrests so they could avoid being drawn into any potential battles.
Mr Hekmatyar served as Afghan Prime Minister in the mujahideen government which ruled the country between 1992 and the Taliban capture of Kabul in 1996.
According to the Red Cross, 50,000 people, mostly civilians, died when Hekmatyar’s forces engaged in battle around Kabul with the Northern Alliance, which has the majority of positions in the interim government. Hekmatyar has said he opposes the UN-installed administration because it has accepted the presence of foreign soldiers on Afghan soil.
In February, Jumma Khan Hamdard, one of his lieutenants, returned from Iran pledging support for Mr Karzai’s regime, saying he had broken his ties with his former leader. However, government officials said they believe he was building a militia to destabilise the current regime.
