Key Afghan warlords reject Bonn deal

Khan is the second key commander to oppose the deal

Signs of a growing split are emerging within Afghanistan's dominant Northern Alliance over the new power-sharing agreement signed on Wednesday in Bonn.

The latest commander to criticise the accord is the former governor of the western city of Herat, Ismail Khan, who accused delegates at the UN-sponsored conference of failing to take into account realities on the ground.

The ethnic and geographical realities on the ground, and the important role of those who have fought, have not been taken into account

Ismail Khan

His comments follow similar ones by Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum who denounced the agreement and warned he would boycott the new government.

General Dostum - one of the most powerful commanders in the Northern Alliance - said his faction had been treated unfairly under the landmark power-sharing accord.

The BBC's Peter Greste in Kabul says that of the four key factions within the alliance, all but the dominant Tajiks have expressed their disappointment with the composition of the cabinet.

Our correspondent says that between them Generals Dostum and Khan wield significant power, but there is no sign yet that these complaints will turn into open conflict.

Click here for a guide to the main powerbrokers

Representatives from other groups who do not belong to the alliance have also voiced concerns about the new interim administration.

'Humiliation'

"Our brothers in the Bonn Conference have just negotiated positions for themselves and have been unfair to others," General Khan said in an interview with the BBC's Persian service.

Dostum feels betrayed by the alliance

"In allocating the key positions, as well as the whole of the interim administration, the ethnic and geographical realities on the ground, and the important role of those who have fought, have not been taken into account."

General Dostum accused his partners in the Northern Alliance of reneging on an earlier agreement to give his mainly Uzbek Jombesh-e Melli faction the foreign ministry in the transitional government.

Instead, it got the portfolios of agriculture, mining and industry - and a rival alliance faction, Jamiat-e Islami, took foreign affairs, as well as defence and interior.

"This is a humiliation for us," General Dostum said. He believes the alliance owes him for the capture of the strategic northern town of Mazar-e-Sharif, which he said triggered the collapse of the Taleban.

UN blueprint

Interim authority to rule for six months

A supreme court to be set up

A 21-member special independent commission to call a traditional assembly, or Loya Jirga

Loya Jirga to elect transitional government

A multinational force to secure Kabul

Sayed Ahmed Gailani, a Pashtun leader who participated in the Bonn talks, also said the new administration is not fully balanced.

Mr Galiani, a supporter of exiled King Zahir Shah, said many Afghans who had led the fight against the Soviets had not been considered.

And from Iran, sidelined warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar accused America of imposing a deal.

"That puts in doubt the legitimacy of the authority which will emerge from this conference," Mr Hekmatyar said.