Hope in Afghanistan.

Byline: The Register-Guard

The Sept. 18 elections for parliament and provincial councils marked progress in Afghanistan's slow journey toward democracy. But no one should underestimate the remaining obstacles.

Despite earlier optimistic estimates, only a third of registered voters in Kabul turned out to vote in the country's first legislative polls in 36 years; the nationwide turnout was slightly greater than 50 percent. The drop from the 70 percent turnout in last year's inspiring presidential election was due largely to violence. A resurgent Taliban attacked 19 polling stations, killing at least a dozen people.

The dysfunctional but courageous government of President Hamid Karzai faces intense resistance from the Taliban and al-Qaeda in southern and eastern Afghanistan, where more than 1,000 people have been killed this year, including 77 Americans. Neighboring Pakistan continues to provide sanctuary to its former Taliban allies, arguing unconvincingly that it is unable to secure the border. Despite assistance from U.S. and NATO troops, Karzai has made scant progress against Afghan drug dealers who supply 90 percent of the world's opium.

Meanwhile, the new parliament is hamstrung by Karzai's unwise decision to bar candidates from organizing in political parties. The government remains too reliant on its charismatic president and vulnerable to the machinations of the country's warlords, some of whom were elected to the legislature and who maintain personal militias.

Yet there is much reason for hope. Unlike Iraq, Afghanistan has the full support of the United Nations, which has provided financial backing and expertise. The strong U.N. presence has served as an effective deterrent to meddling by neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Russia.

Karzai, meanwhile, has proven to be an effective politician at home and an influential diplomat abroad, secure enough to criticize the Bush administration and Afghanistan's powerful neighbor, Pakistan.

To build on Afghanistan's promising beginning, Karzai must now find ways to unite the nation's diverse and distrustful ethnic groups. At the same time, he must also lay the groundwork for long-term reconciliation with former Taliban members and warlords who are willing to accept democratization.

The United States and its allies can help by intensifying their efforts to rebuild the country and its economy, and by working with the fledgling Afghan military to increase security, not only in Kabul but throughout the countryside.

The Bush administration must lean on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to end his country's tacit support for the Taliban insurgency. Since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Musharraf has made countless promises to target the Taliban, but has failed to do so, despite receiving more than $700 million in U.S. aid each year. The Bush administration should make clear that continued assistance hinges on Pakistan making real progress in defeating the Tali- ban.

President Bush is justified in calling the Afghan election "positive news for the world." But in celebrating the results, Bush and other world leaders must recognize that the hard work of building a new and democratic Afghanistan has just begun.