WASHINGTON, Dec 3: Burhanuddin Rabbani, the UN-recognized president of Afghanistan ensconced in Kabul as head of the Northern Alliance administration there, has thrown what appears to be a spanner in the works by suggesting that he and his coalition should remain in control of the country for up to six more months.

On the same day as the United Nations presented a draft for an interim council, on which agreement was said to be near, at the Afghan talks underway in Bonn, Mr Rabbani said in an interview in Kabul that he should remain president for six months, with a Pakhtoon leader as prime minister.

In the interview, with The Washington Post, Mr Rabbani also appeared to take a position in contradiction to the US stand on the captured Taliban leadership. He said if his troops got hold of Osama bin Laden or Mullah Mohammad Omar, he would not turn them over to the United States until after Afghanistan conducted its own investigations.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had clearly stated on Saturday that Washington expected anti-Taliban forces to hand over any Al Qaeda or Taliban leader for trial in US military tribunals, to be set up under new Bush plans for the war against terrorism.

“Primarily, we’ll have an investigation about the people from Al Qaeda because our people must know about this, why they came to Afghanistan to kill our people,” Mr Rabbani is quoted as saying in the interview. “Then we will discuss it with the Americans.”

About his proposals for an interim set-up, Mr Rabbani said he had outlined his suggestions to UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi by telephone. At the top of the his political structure would be a leadership council of 12 to 20 leaders from various political and ethnic factions.

Under that would be an administration or a cabinet of perhaps 20 to 22 ministers who would be technocrats rather than politicians and run day-to-day operations.

This government would operate for four to six months until an emergency Loya Jirga could be held.

Mr Rabbani also said ex-king Zahir Shah would be treated as just another political player who might serve on the leadership council, but not as its head.

The UN plan proposes a 25 to 28-member interim leadership council that would rule until a Loya Jirga is held six months from now. Towards the end of the interview, Mr Rabbani was said to have attempted to modify his position on the handing over of Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders to the US.

“There’s no obstacle,” he said. “of course, after the primary investigation in Afghanistan, we are not against it. They can go to America, yes.”