Afghan royalists aim to restore monarchy

Kabul.

Supporters of former king Mohammad Zahir Shah announced the formation of a movement to press for the restoration of the Afghan monarchy yesterday, hours after their 88-year-old champion returned from medical treatment abroad. The National Unity Movement, led by one of Shah's cousins, Sultan Mahmoud Ghazi, invited other royalists to join it.

"Apart from forming the movement today, participants also asked for the return of the constitutional monarchy," Hakim Noorzaye, deputy head of the newly formed group, told Reuters. "But we want a democratic system without imposing our wish on people. We call on the government to launch a referendum and to let people decide what sort of government they want."

In announcing the new movement, Noorzaye also resigned from his post as deputy head of intelligence in the government of US-backed President Hamid Karzai. He criticised the administration as "a tool of warlords" and charged that a commission it appointed had already opted for a presidential system in new constitution being secretly drafted.

The constitution is supposed to be put to a Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, for approval in October to allow for general elections to be held next June. The nine founding members are either close relatives of Zahir Shah, like his sons Mirwais Zahir and Mustafa Zahir, or those who served the monarch during his 40-year rule. One, Professor Rasoul Amin, said about 1,800 supporters of the ex-king had come to Kabul from all over Afghanistan for the launch of the movement.

The restoration call came just hours after the frail former king - twice-rumoured to have died in July - arrived in Kabul from France, where he had been recovering from a broken leg. It is the strongest call yet since he returned to Afghanistan last year after nearly three decades in exile that followed his overthrow by a cousin in a bloodless 1973 coup.

Seen as a symbol of unity in a highly fractious country, Zahir Shah was given the title Father of the Nation by Karzai last year, but aides have said he would accept a leadership role if chosen in next year's polls. Shah was greeted with an embrace by Karzai in the morning. He was supported by aides as he walked slowly down the stairs from an Ariana Afghan Airlines to review an honour guard.

Analysts say that while restoration would be popular in rural areas, especially in the south where Shah's rule is looked back upon as something of a golden age, it does appears that the government has been moving towards a strong presidential system. Shah's critics remember him as inept ruler more interested in a jet-set lifestyle than national development.