KABUL -- One of Afghanistan's most powerful warlords, Abdul Rashid Dostum, has been elected to a tribal council that will choose the devastated country's next government, an official said on Sunday, even though militia leaders are meant to be excluded, Reuters reported.

Dostum, deputy defense minister in the interim government, was picked by 86 out of 125 community representatives in a northern district to take part in next month's Loya Jirga, which will set the course for post-Taleban Afghanistan, said Sadeq Mudaber, a member of the body overseeing the Loya Jirga election.

His selection appears to conflict with Loya Jirga guidelines meant to bar commanders responsible for killing civilians over the past 23 years of fighting.

"But this commission is not judging anyone. It's up to the people of Afghanistan to send their delegates," Mudaber told Reuters at the Loya Jirga commission headquarters in the Afghan capital.

The Assembly beginning on June 10 will gather 1,501 Afghans from around the country to choose a government for the next two years, when free elections will be held.

The 18-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul is stepping up its counter-terrorism efforts as the Loya Jirga approaches.

ISAF, currently being led by Britain but soon to be taken over by Turkey, says it fears the ousted fundamentalist Taleban or the Al-Qaeda Islamic militant group blamed for the September 11 attacks on the United States may try to disrupt the meeting.

Other Western security officials in Kabul say anti-government warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, largely responsible for destroying much of Kabul during inter-factional fighting between 1992-95, may also be planning a "terror campaign".

The Loya Jirga, which will meet on Afghan carpets in a massive tent once used in the Munich Beer Festival, is expected to reappoint interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai.

An open question is whether it will also confirm the current power-sharing arrangement between Hamid, an ethnic Pashtun, and the ethnic minority Tajiks and Uzbeks of the Northern Alliance.

The Tajiks hold two of the most powerful ministries in Karzai's interim administration - interior and defense.

The ethnic Uzbeks, who include Dostum, hold more minor portfolios.

The Tajiks and Uzbeks formed the backbone of the Northern Alliance, which swept into Kabul towards the end of last year after a concerted U.S. air offensive drove the Taleban down to the Pashtun-dominated south.

But strains between the partners have been apparent in recent months.

Since early this year Dostum's troops near the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif have skirmished intermittently with forces loyal to Commander Atta Mohammad, who is said to represent Defense Minister Marshall Mohammad Qassem Fahim, an ethnic Tajik.

There are also complaints being brought before the Loya Jirga commission that warlords in some areas including Kabul have put forward their representatives as Loya Jirga candidates and used force or bribery to ensure they are elected.

But Mudaber said the incidents were isolated and would not affect the credibility of the Assembly.

"There are some complaints but it's not a major issue," he said.