The four Afghan delegations meeting near Bonn have agreed to form an interim authority to rule Afghanistan after a "successful first morning" of UN-sponsored talks yesterday.
The delegates, dressed in a mixture of Afghan and western clothing, heard the German Foreign Minister, Mr Joschka Fischer, tell them in his opening speech of their "tremendous responsibility for the future" of Afghanistan.
"The responsibility is yours. No on can relieve you of it, and no one wants to," he said. But he warned that any western pledges to rebuild Afghanistan came with expectations and conditions, namely a stable and representative government, and a guarantee of "the rights and dignity of women".
The delegates have two immediate tasks ahead of them: to agree on a security force to allow humanitarian aid into Afghanistan, and to agree on the structure of an interim authority to take control in Kabul.
After six months, this interim authority, a 20 to 25-member cabinet, would lead to a Loya Jirga, a traditional assembly of ethnic leaders. This assembly would elect a transitional government and a parliament which, over two years, will "try to establish the principles of democracy leading to elections", according to the UN spokesman, Mr Ahmed Fahzi.
Mr Yunus Quanooni, leader of the Northern Alliance delegation, said that the alliance was prepared to share power in Afghanistan. The leader of the Iranian-backed Cyprus delegation, Mr Houmayoun Jareer, said: "We should put our differences aside - this could be the secret to the success of this conference."
The media left the building before talks began, but observers said they were surprised at the apparent goodwill with which old rivals greeted each other.
"They were calling each other the 'heroes of the war'," said one adviser. But tough negotiations lie ahead. As well the make-up of the interim authority, delegates have to pick a leader.
Delegates also disagree over whether an international security force should be international or all-Muslim.
The UN has been conscious of criticism that Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, are under-represented at the talks.
To counter criticism, they relayed a telephone call from the Pashtun leader in Southern Afghanistan, Mr Sayed Hamid Karzai, who is currently negotiating the capitulation of the Taliban in Kandahar.
He gave the meeting his blessing, calling it "the path towards salvation" and urged delegates to assert Afghanistan's "will and our sense of self-determination".
Ms Fatima Gailiani, an adviser to the Pakistan-backed Peshawar delegation of Pashtun exiles, said she believed the delegates would heed international calls and seriously address women's rights at the talks.
"We have heard a lot of talk about women's rights before, but this is the first time that I see serious discussion about it, I am very optimistic," she said.
She added: "We have all lost a lot after over 20 years of war. Children should be able to laugh and go to school with books under their arms and not guns on their shoulders."
