31. Most of the gains of the Taliban were relatively easy to consolidate as they marched through the Pushtun regions of Afghanistan. 32. Exiled nearly 30 years ago, the king is thought to have retained influence among Afghanistan's majority Pushtun population. 33. The Pushtuns have numbers on their side but, the king apart, no widely accepted leader and little military clout. 34. Much of the south and east is being carved up into fiefs by Pushtun chieftains who answer to no central authority. 35. The Taliban, believed to be backed by Pakistan, are mostly Pushtuns and follow a strict Sunni version of Islam. 36. For Iran that includes the northern alliance and the parties based on Herat, for Pakistan it is the Pushtun parties. 37. The director of Iran radio's Pushtun service, Asheq Hossein, said he had two sources for the report. 38. "' Afghan Kipchaks "'are Aimak ( Taimeni ) tribe of Pushtun origin, constitute Taymani tribe. 39. That poses a difficult question : How do you include Pushtuns without including the Taliban, or at least part of it? 40. The former Taliban fighters, who are Pushtuns like Karzai, could prove a key source of support for his incoming administration.
