Pashtun leader seeks to replace Afghan provincial governor

GARDEZ, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The Pashtun leader seeking to establish peace between two rival Pashtun factions in eastern Afghanistan's Paktia province plans to ask Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai to replace the provincial governor.

Sayed Hamid Gailani, who is expected to arrive Wednesday in the Afghan capital of Kabul, will inform Karzai that Bacha Khan -- whom the interim regime appointed acting provincial governor -- no longer has the support of the majority of Pashtun tribesmen, sources in Gardez said.

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The sources said Gailani will ask that another leader be chosen by consensus for the province, where the mood was calm but tense Monday between the Pashtun factions.

The Afghan interim leader's special envoy, his uncle Aziz Karzai, held a meeting Sunday at the Gardez residence of military commander Haji Ishaq. Witnesses said at least 10 U.S. military personnel accompanied the envoy. Gailani was said to be at the meeting along with senior military commanders.

Afterward, Karzai headed to Khowst to meet with Khan.

Gardez was the scene of fighting last week between shura forces and a rival Pashtun militia headed by Khan. The guns have been silent since Thursday afternoon, when Khan's forces retreated to the east and Khan went to Khowst.

The shura, a council representing all the clans and tribes of Paktia, remained in control of Gardez.

Gailani has challenged Khan's legitimacy by saying he does not have the support of the people in the province.

The fighting between shura forces and Khan's fighters erupted against a backdrop of Pashtun tribes trying to regroup throughout Afghanistan -- and the interim administration's attempts to foster civil stability to avoid the type of tribal infighting that led to the ousted Taliban's rise to power.

One of the most daunting tasks for the interim government is unifying a nation that has been traditionally ruled by warlord-led tribes.

Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan.

-- CNN Correspondent Kamal Hyder contributed to this report.