Rabbani has warned against international interference

Until another government was established, he said, his administration should be recognised as valid.

But he added that supported the idea of holding a loya jirga or national council in which all the different tribes and ethnic groups in Afghanistan would sit down and make a decision regarding the future leadership of the country.

Speaking about the forthcoming UN-sponsored conference of Afghan parties in Germany, Mr Rabbani said that it would be a good first step on the road towards establishing peace and stability.

But he also said it would be impossible to sort out all of Afghanistan's problems in just one meeting.

Asked whether there was a risk that the country would revert to a period of factional fighting, Mr Rabbani said that the defence ministry in Kabul planned to bring together all the various commanders who now controlled different parts of the country so that they could form a council and avoid any repetition of what happened in the past.