Afghanistan's Karzai set to visit India, Germany - Summary

Wed, 02 Feb 2011

Kabul/New Delhi - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is leaving for a two-day visit to India where he is to meet with the prime minister and other senior officials, his spokesman said Wednesday.

"President Karzai's visit is aimed to discuss regional economic capacity development with the Indian authorities," Seyamak Herawi said. "He will also meet with the Indian president and the prime minister."

Karzai is also scheduled to deliver a speech in New Delhi at a conference on sustainable economic, political and social development.

"President Karzai's visit continues the tradition of regular high-level consultations between the two countries, and will contribute to strengthening the friendship and strategic partnership between India and Afghanistan," India's External Affairs Ministry said on the eve of the visit.

India has invested heavily in infrastructure and reconstruction aid, and remains the fifth-largest donor for the war-torn country.

At his meeting with Karzai, Singh is expected to voice India's concerns about the Taliban reintegration process and security measures for Indians working in Afghanistan.

Singh is expected to reiterate India's position that only those Taliban who severed links with terrorism and accepted the Afghan constitution should be included in a power-sharing arrangement.

While India has concerns over what it perceives as Pakistan's attempt to influence the process, Islamabad remains wary of growing Indian influence in Afghanistan and views its aid work as a front for spying and making trouble for Islamabad.

After India, Karzai is to visit Germany for two days to attend the Munich Security Conference, his spokesman said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365453,india-germany-summary.html.

EXTRA: Karzai inaugurates new Afghan parliament

Wed, 26 Jan 2011

Kabul - Afghan President Hamid Karzai inaugurated a new parliament Wednesday, ending a drawn-out political showdown with lawmakers over the opening date that had plunged the country deeper into crisis.

In a ceremony in Kabul, Karzai swore in the parliament's 249 members and asked the new lawmakers to set aside their differences for the sake of the country.

"It is natural that there are competitions during the elections. It is natural that there are problems, but when the competition ends the national unity starts," Karzai said.

"Given the dangers that our country is facing, and given the opportunity that we have for a prosperous future, I hope that we all join hands and lead our country towards a situation that all Afghans hope for," he said.

Karzai had postponed the opening of the session until February 22, but he eventually agreed to preside over an opening Wednesday after lawmakers, allegedly backed by Western countries, threatened to go ahead without him.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/364293,inaugurates-new-afghan-parliament.html.

Afghan president remembers 'veteran and seasoned diplomat' Holbrooke

Tue, 14 Dec 2010

Kabul - President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday that he was saddened by the death of Richard Holbrooke, the US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, a "veteran and seasoned diplomat."

Expressing his condolences to the American people, Holbrooke's family and friends, Karzai said in a statement Holbrooke "had served greatly the government and the people of the United States."

Holbrooke, 69, died Monday after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured artery.

The deceased diplomat had testy relations with Karzai, strained since a heated meeting to discuss last year's fraud-tainted presidential elections.

Karzai called Holbrooke's wife on Sunday to pass on his best wishes.

Karl Eikenberry, the US ambassador to Kabul, called Holbrooke "a champion for the people of Afghanistan."

"Our efforts in Afghanistan lost a powerful advocate today," Eikenberry said in the statement issued by the US embassy, calling Holbrooke a partner of those who try to foster peace.

"In Afghanistan, we will all take time in coming days to mourn his loss, pray for his family, celebrate his life and carry on the work that he devoted himself to so fiercely," Eikenberry said Monday.

US General David H Petraeus, the top commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, said the death of the "diplomatic wingman" was a tragic loss for the region.

Holbrooke was a true titan in the diplomatic arena and a central figure in the effort in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Petraeus said.

Holbrooke was appointed special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan after US President Barack Obama took office in early 2009.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358054,veteran-seasoned-diplomat-holbrooke.html.

Karzai may 'burn his bridges' with NATO over leaks: memo

by Staff Writers
Ottawa (AFP) Dec 1, 2010

A Canadian envoy warned that Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai may "burn his bridges" with NATO as a potential fallout of newly released US diplomatic cables, a Canadian paper said Wednesday.

In a diplomatic note to Ottawa obtained by the daily National Post, Canada's ambassador in Kabul William Crosbie echoed warnings by US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry.

The frank memo was written after the pair met last Saturday.

In it he says Eikenberry warned of a "potentially cataclysmic fallout" from the WikiLeaks whistleblower website's release of thousands of leaked embassy cables regarding Afghanistan.

"The main concern he (Eikenberry) has is that these leaks will reveal tactical and strategic political considerations and assessments as well as privileged relationships with members of the Karzai government and other leading figures in Afghanistan," he writes.

"Eikenberry believes these will feed Karzai's paranoia and mistrust of the US (and its allies); will put pressure on the reformers within the govt to leave and will drive Karzai evermore into a confrontational role with the US and NATO."

The Canadian government declined to comment on the Wikileaks storm.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Karzai_may_burn_his_bridges_with_NATO_over_leaks_memo_999.html.

Afghan president condemns joint US-Russia raid on drug labs

Sat, 30 Oct 2010

Kabul - President Hamid Karzai condemned Saturday a joint US-Russia raid on drug laboratories in eastern Afghanistan, saying it was carried out without the permission of his government.

The operation was "a blatant violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty and of international laws," Karzai said in a statement. "Any repetition of such acts will prompt necessary reaction by our country," the president said.

Thursday's raid reportedly destroyed around one ton of heroin worth 250 million dollars at laboratories in the Shinwar district of the eastern province of Nangerhar.

"While Afghanistan remains committed to its joint efforts with the international community against narcotics, it also makes it clear that no organization or institution shall have the right to carry out such a military operation without prior authorization and consent of the government of Afghanistan," Karzai said.

The US and its former Cold War foe Russia have improved cooperation in Afghanistan recently. US-funded Afghan fighters forced Soviet troops to leave Afghanistan at the end of the 1980s after a decade of occupation.

But two decades after the withdrawal, the Russian government has recently agreed to allow NATO countries to transport non-lethal supplies via its territory to more than 150,000 US and NATO forces currently battling Taliban militants in Afghanistan.

The Russian officials had previously accused the US and NATO forces of not doing enough to clamp down on drug production and trafficking in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan produces more than 90 per cent of world's opium, from which heroin is derived.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/351124,us-russia-raid-drug-labs.html.

Karzai confirms receiving cash payments from Iran

Mon, 25 Oct 2010

Kabul - Afghan President Hamid Karzai admitted Monday that his office regularly received cash payments from Iran to pay for his "special expenses" and presidential "donations," but insisted it was though official channels.

"The Iranian government has been providing us with 5 or 6 or 7 hundreds of thousands of euros once or twice every year," Karzai told reporters in his fortified presidential palace.

"This is transparent," the president insisted. "This is nothing hidden. We are grateful for the Iranian help in this regard."

Karzai was responding to a report in The New York Times accusing Tehran of passing bags of money as part of secret and steady payments intended to promote its interest in Afghanistan.

The report, citing Afghan and Western officials in Kabul, said Karzai chief of staff Umar Daoudzai received millions of dollars in cash in Iran and Afghanistan. The president used the money to buy the loyalty of Afghan politicians and tribal elders, the article said.

"Daoudzai is receiving that help under my instruction," Karzai said.

Asked what Tehran wanted Kabul to do in return, he said: "They have asked for good relations in return and lots of other things."

"We have also asked a lot of things in return in this relationship, so it is a relationship between neighbors, and it will go on, and we will continue to ask for cash help from Iran," Karzai said.

He said the US government was aware of the Iranian aid.

"The cash payments are done by various friendly countries to help the president's office and to help dispense assistance in various ways to the employees around here, to people outside, and this is transparent, and this is something that I have discussed," he said.

US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley told reporters in Washington that the United States supports the Afghan government receiving aid from any country but questioned Iran's motives and its dedication to a stable Afghanistan.

"We have concerns about Iran and the role that it's played in affairs of many of its neighbors, including Afghanistan," he said.

As far as US cash payments, Crowley confirmed, as Karzai noted, that Washington once provided the Afghan government with aid in the form of cash because in the early period of the US intervention Kabul did not have the institutional capacity to handle electronic transfers.

Karzai suggested the Times' report was related to his government's decision to dissolve all private security companies in Afghanistan.

He accused some Western officials of attempting to put pressure on the government and to defame Daoudzai by talking to the media.

NATO officials and Western diplomats in Kabul publicly supported Karzai's move to dismantle the security firms. But they have also expressed concerns that the ban would cause the closure of many national development projects protected by private security guards.

Karzai reiterated Monday that his decision on private security contractors stands, but said his administration was willing to reconsider the continuation of some private contractors currently guarding national projects.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/350341,receiving-cash-payments-iran.html.

Karzai Endeavors for Reconciliation and the American Belligerent Policy

Saturday March 27, 2010

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate

It is now clear as the broad day light that nothing can happen in the Kabul Administration without the consent of the Americans. These range from nomination and appointment of high ranking officials, enactment of laws to formulation of all military, political and social programs and their implementation. Even Karzai is not able to nominate a governor of a province, or a provincial police chief or intelligence Head without prior agreement and affirmation of American generals, let alone nominating cabinet members and deputy-ministers who are routinely introduced by the American embassy in Kabul before commencement of their official appointment procedure. In short, Karzai is divested of authority, ironically to the extent that he is not able to appoint his government officials. Moreover, he can't release a single prisoner from Bagram, Kandahar, Guantanamo and Pulli-Charkhi jails. So it is unambiguously beyond his authority to keep on the peace process with the opposition, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, still more until the achievement of a tangible result!

Karzai knows that the current Taliban Resistance is not aimed at achieving some material goals like property, power, wealth, international stature nor it is being waged for tribal feuds but it is a common reaction to the illegitimate occupation of Afghanistan by the Americans and the presence of more than one hundred thousands soldiers in the country.

The Afghans, both men and women, will never, accept the presence of foreign troops on their land or bow to them even for a while though decades may fleet. But Karzai has not been tired of not repeating his demand for so-called pseudo-reconciliation, none the less his knowing pretty well the nature of the stand of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

He makes his assertion about reconciliation in every forum and gathering even in a gathering in Uruzgan a few days ago, he claimed to have sent invitation to leaders of Taliban to participate in the peace assembly of elders which is to be held in Kabul.

In our opinion, such baseless and unsubstantiated claims portray Karzai loyalty and obligation for the task which has been placed on his shoulders by the Americans to ostensibly speak of peace and reconciliation (to deceive the man in the street) while the Americans will, de facto, continue to implement their policy of intransigence and warfare in the country.

Why they do not know that the Islamic Emirate, in the first place, elected to accept the ousting of their regime rather than preferring kowtowing to a foreign rule. They accepted death, injury, imprisonment, sufferings and bowed not to foreign pressure and subjugation, nor did they accept restrictions on the implementation of Islamic rules and principles.

Karzai and his colleagues should know that peace will not exist even for a single day in the presence of foreign troops in the country. Accepting the presence of foreign troops on our soil is against the noble traditions of the Afghans and it is contrary to their magnanimity and history.

Karzai speaks of reconciliation in a time that the Americans are not ready to put an end to the war in Afghanistan but as the time passes, they announce initiation of new battles. They are nurturing to turn Afghanistan into a hotbed of long-term colonialist conspiracies and ambitions.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan believes that Karzai, Americans, and other circles have been trying to drive a wedge among the ranks of the Taliban leadership by launching the phony process of reconciliation and by claims of having contacted Taliban leadership.

During the past nine years, they have failed to permeate into the ranks of the Islamic Emirate, now with the help of Allah (SWT), it is impossible for the enemy to pervade into their ranks nor is it possible that any one will ever tend to accept the unrealistic, farcical and misleading reconciliation process.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Source: Theunjustmedia.
Link: http://theunjustmedia.com/Afghanistan/Statements/March10/Karzai%20Endeavors%20for%20Reconciliation%20and%20the%20American%20Belligerent%20Policy.htm.

President Karzai during meeting with Gordon Brown comes under attack in Marjah

HELMAND, Mar. 07 - The reports from Helmand province indicate that the president Karzai during a meeting with the British prime minister held in the center of Marjah came under attack by Mujahideen, on later Sunday, on Mar. 07.

According to the details, 6 missiles landed in the surrounding areas of Lui Char Rahi in Marjah, causing the enemy deadly losses, however, there is no report to confirm the precise number of the casualties caused by the missiles attack.

Shortly after the incident, the combined outposts of the foreign and Afghan troops were attacked by the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate in the same area, causing the enemy loss of life and injuries.

Source: Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Link: http://124.217.251.48/~alemarah/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1286:president-karzai-during-meeting-with-gordon-brown-comes-under-attack-in-marjah.

Afghan MPs to vote on 2nd Karzai list

Afghan lawmakers are to vote on President Hamid Karzai's second list of cabinet nominees on Saturday after rejecting most of his first choices.

Karzai's second line-up consists of 14 men and three women.

"There has been a high degree of absenteeism during the questioning of the nominees, and I expect a large number of them, perhaps one-third, will be rejected," said Haroun Mir, Director of Afghanistan's Center for Research and Policy Studies.

The Afghan parliamentarians rejected 17 out of Karzai's 24 proposed cabinet members earlier this month.

The rejection has left Afghanistan without a functioning government.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116256§ionid=351020403.

Karzai presents new list of cabinet nominees to Afghan parliament

Kabul - Afghan President Hamid Karzai's new cabinet lineup was formally presented Saturday to the country's parliament after the legislators rejected 17 designated ministers last week. The new 16 nominees included Zalmai Rasool, a former national security adviser slated to be foreign minister. The post was vacant in the previous list.

None of the rejected nominees was on the new list.

Three women were on the revised list presented to the lower house of the parliament by Vice President Karim Khalili. They were nominated as ministers of women's affairs, public health and public works.

No nominees were introduced to parliament for the energy and telecommunications ministries.

The legislature last week rejected 17 out of 24 cabinet nominees and only approved seven, including the defense, interior and finance ministers.

Karzai, who was sworn in for a second five-year term last month after polls marred by widespread fraud, has been under mounting pressure from Western countries to clean up his administration and crack down on rampant graft.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302820,karzai-presents-new-list-of-cabinet-nominees-to-afghan-parliament.html.

Afghan parliament rejects 17 of Karzai's 24 cabinet nominees

Sat, 02 Jan 2010

Kabul - Afghanistan's parliament on Saturday rejected 17 out of 24 cabinet nominees proposed by President Hamid Karzai, including a powerful ex-warlord and the only female candidate put forward. Defense Minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak, Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar, and Finance Minister Mohammad Omar Zakhelwal, three key ministers favored by the West, were among the seven approved by the lower house of the parliament, government spokesman Haseeb Noori said.

More than 200 parliamentarians cast their votes of confidence in a secret ballot after two weeks in which the candidates made presentations on their platforms, he said.

Ismail Khan, the powerful former warlord who served as minister for water and energy in Karzai's first five-year term, failed to get the approval for the same post. Other rejected candidates includes those for the ministries of justice, commerce, economy, public health and higher education, Noori said.

Husn Bano Ghazanfar, the only female candidate in the proposed cabinet, had been set to take over the Ministry of Women Affairs before failing to win approval.

The move is seen as the last opportunity for the country's parliamentarians to use their political muscle, as their term comes to an end in a few months.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced on Saturday that it had set May 22 for the country's parliamentary elections, chief electoral officer, Daud Ali Najafi told a press conference in Kabul on Saturday.

The decision came amid international concerns about an electoral system which many analysts showed signs of needing reforms after a contentious presidential election in August.

More than 1 million, or around a quarter of all votes cast in those polls, were found fraudulent. Those votes were mostly in favor of Karzai. The IEC, which conducted the elections, was accused by other presidential candidates and international observers of bias in favor of the incumbent.

Since taking office for his second term, Karzai, who was declared the winner of the election only after his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of the second round of the balloting, has been under mounting pressure by his government's Western backers to clamp down on widespread corruption in his administration.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/301825,afghan-parliament-rejects-17-of-karzais-24-cabinet-nominees.html.

Karzai presents new Afghan Cabinet list

By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press Writer

KABUL – Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government on Saturday presented to parliament a list of nominees for a new Cabinet that keeps U.S. favorites in several posts critical to the war and reconstruction.

The list also jettisons the heads of two ministries embroiled in corruption probes.

Karzai has been under intense international pressure to cleanse his government of corruption and mismanagement. But he also needs to mollify domestic political allies, including warlords, who have kept him in power.

Holdovers from the current Cabinet include the defense, interior and finance ministers. The list did not include a nominee for foreign minister; Karzai has said he will make that nomination after the international conference on Afghanistan to be held in London in late January.

First Vice President Mohammad Fahim told parliament that those nominated for the new Cabinet were "ministers who were experts and did a good job."

But many parliament members expressed strong concern about the new names, suspecting they would do the bidding of regional warlords.

"My fear and that of many MPs is that they maybe are the puppets of those warlords so that despite that they are considered civilized people and more educated people, they cannot implement their own ideas and initiatives," said Khaled Pashtun, a parliament member from Kandahar.

Several of the new appointments have previous government experience and good educational credentials. It's unclear, though, whether they will clean up the bribery and graft that has become business as usual in the government. As with Karzai's first Cabinet, the new slate of proposed ministers is a collection of Western-educated Afghans and former mujahedeen or their nominees.

Karzai wants to replace Muhammad Ibrahim Adel, the current minister of mines. Earlier this month, two U.S. officials in Washington alleged that Adel took a $20 million bribe to steer a $3 billion copper mining project to a Chinese company. The minister denied taking any bribes, saying the agreement was approved by the Cabinet and that Karzai was also aware of it.

The president also wants to replace Sediq Chakari, who heads the Ministry of Hajj and Mosque. Allegations surfaced recently that money was pocketed at the ministry. Chakari, who has denied involvement, said two of his employees were being investigated in connection with missing money.

Also Saturday, the international forces in Afghanistan reported that a U.S. serviceman was killed Friday by a roadside explosive in southern Afghanistan. Further details were not given.

Karzai: Afghan Army Will Need Help Until At Least 2024

Karzai: Afghan Army Will Need Help Until At Least 2024
Afghan Pres. Eyes Long Term NATO Commitment
Jason Ditz

December 8, 2009

Throwing further doubt into President Obama’s claims that he intends to begin transferring control over Afghan security to the Afghan military in July 2011, Afghan President Hamid Karzai says that the force will not be self-sufficient until at least 2024.

The nation has struggled to muster any sort of competent security forces of its own since the 2001 US invasion, despite billions of dollars in aid from NATO and massive training missions from the international forces.

Karzai suggested that new timetable at a press conference given with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who said he hoped that "we will be able to beat those timelines."

In addition to President Obama’s largely illusory July 2011 claim, the White House has also said it intends to be out of Afghanistan by 2017. Karzai’s comments suggest even that is a relatively ambitious timetable, and that decades of war remain a very real possibility, assuming the conflict doesn’t continue to deteriorate to the point that it forces NATO to withdraw.

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=60860&s2=10.

PROFILE: Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's tainted president

Kabul (Earth Times - dpa) - Hamid Karzai, who was sworn in for a second term in office on Thursday, still has the chance to go down as a great Afghan leader. However, as things stand now, Karzai's legacy will most likely be defined by August's fraud-marred elections, his unwillingness to address the widespread fraud and his failure to clean up his corruption-riddled cabinet.

International election monitors said that up to one quarter of the votes cast in the August 20 elections had been manipulated, the vast majority in Karzai's favor. A UN-backed investigation discounted about 1 million ballots, or one-third of Karzai's votes, forcing him into a runoff.

Much to the dismay and frustration of his Western backers, Karzai initially refused to acknowledge that any vote rigging had taken place.

After Karzai refused to replace officials of the Independent Election Commission, who were widely regarded to be heavily biased towards the incumbent, his main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of the scheduled runoff, leading to Karzai to be declared the winner.

Back in December 2001, following the ouster of the Taliban regime, Karzai was regarded a beacon of hope.

The Pashtun politician had just been chosen - in absentia - to serve as Afghanistan's interim president at an international conference held in Germany.

At that time, Karzai was in southern Afghanistan, negotiating with the Taliban, who had ruled the country since 1996, to relinquish their last stronghold in Kandahar.

In 2004, in the first free presidential poll in the country, he was confirmed in office by a landslide.

Despite several assassination attempts, and also growing discontent with his government among the Afghan people, who were faced with the resurgence of the Taliban and endemic government corruption, Karzai ran for another term.

His victory seemed assured largely because Karzai could firmly count on many votes from the Pashtun, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group, but Abdullah put in a stronger showing than many expected.

Karzai has not laid out any grand vision on how to solve Afghanistan's most pressing problems. During his inauguration ceremony, he vowed again to fight corruption, but did not single out any clear means. Instead Karzai lashed out at international media for exaggerating the problem of graft in his government.

"Since some time, the world media has widely reported on corruption in our country's offices and administration. Whatever the truth may be, these allegations have given the Afghan administration a very bad reputation," he said.

"Corruption and bribery constitute a very dangerous problem. We want to follow this issue seriously. We consider combating this difficulty our duty," he said.

He also said that he wanted to call a grand tribal assembly, or loya jirga, to find a way to reconcile with the resurgent Taliban. "We welcome all those countrymen, who are not linked to international terrorist networks, and who want to have a peaceful life in the light of our constitution."

Karzai has grown increasingly critical of western forces in the country, yet without the foreign soldiers protecting his unstable government, he would have lost power a long time ago. Despite the troops, his influence is limited, in particular in the insurgency-ridden provinces in the south and east.

The 53-year-old president mostly stays put in the presidential palace in Kabul, and is largely isolated from the Afghan people.

The international community is growing increasingly critical of Karzai, who was once viewed as Afghanistan's hope.

His detractors regard him as a puppet of the US government, but relations with Washington have cooled considerably since US president George W Bush left office.

A recent US government white paper on US policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan summed up the crux of the issue: "The overall legitimacy of the Afghan government is also undermined by rampant corruption and a failure to provide basic services to much of the population over the past seven years."

When congratulating him after he was declared election winner, US President Barack Obama urged Karzai to get serious about improving the government and fighting corruption.

Yet for a long time, Karzai was regarded as the West's best hope. Although Western-oriented, he is also steeped in the traditions of his country and is able to converse easily in English as well as his native Pashtun and Dari, the country's second official language.

However, Karzai has far from fulfilled the expectations of him. Both in Afghanistan and the West, people increasingly wonder whether this president is not the hoped-for solution for Afghanistan but rather part of the problem.

Afghan president sworn in to second 5-year term

By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press Writers

KABUL – Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai promised Thursday to prosecute corrupt government officials and end a culture of impunity, speaking during an inauguration closely watched by the international community for signs that his administration is moving beyond the cronyism and graft of the past five years.

Karzai has come under intense international pressure to clean up his government, and has often bristled at the criticism of corruption leveled at him from Western powers.

After being sworn in to a second five-year term, Karzai said his government was doing whatever it could to implement reforms, and pledged that Afghan forces would be able to take control of the country's security in the next five years.

He also said he believed the "problem of international terrorism" in his country would be overcome.

"We are trying our best to implement social, judicial and administrative reforms in our country," Karzai said. "Being a president is a heavy task and we will try our best to honestly fulfill this task in the future."

The ceremony was attended by about 800 Afghan and foreign dignitaries from more than 40 countries. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and British Foreign Minister David Miliband were among them.

Traditionally rocky relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which share a 1,510-mile (2,430-kilometer) long border, have improved steadily since Pakistan's elected government led by Zardari replaced the military dictatorship of Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Karzai said Zardari's presence at his inauguration was a sign of "good relationship, good brotherhood."

The two leaders last met in Turkey in April. Islamist extremism and border security have topped previous discussions. Afghanistan routinely accuses Pakistan of harboring the Taliban's top leadership, while Pakistan complains bitterly about the increased influence wielded by its hostile neighbor India in Afghanistan.

Karzai said a conference would be held soon in Kabul to address ways to tackle corruption, and that his government would take its fight against drug trafficking seriously, prosecuting those who are linked to narcotics as well as those who are engaged in corruption.

"Those who spread corruption should be tried and prosecuted," he said. "Corruption is a very dangerous enemy of the state."

The president insisted he would select "expert ministers" capable of providing competent leadership.

Karzai won this year's fraud-marred presidential election by default, after his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out of a runoff, saying it was impossible for the vote to be fair.

During his speech, the president also welcomed Afghans representing all tribes and ethnicities who turned out for his inauguration and said it demonstrated national unity. He also thanked the other presidential candidates who ran in the election and invited them to contribute to the new government.

"People should know that only the votes of the people can legitimize the government," Karzai said.

Seeking to portray himself as a unifying force in the country, Karzai exclaimed, "I am the servant of all the people of Afghanistan, from every ethnicity, every tribe, from every place, from every province — from every age, whether they are small children whether they are old people, women — I invite all the presidential candidates to come and help in serving this nation."

The Taliban, however, said the inauguration ceremony was meaningless and said they would not accept his call for national unity.

"Today is not a historic day. This is a government based on nothing because of the continuing presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan," spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a telephone call.

"Karzai's call to the Taliban to come to the government has no meaning. He became president through fraud and lies," Mujahid said.

The head of Afghanistan's human rights commission said the speech struck the right tone of reform but that the Karzai government would not be able to succeed without the help of its international allies.

"The speech was good because he said we need action," said Sima Samar. "He can deliver if there is a political will — but not just on his part, also on the part of the international community."

Kabul boosts security ahead of Karzai inauguration

Wed Nov 18, 2009

Afghan forces have boosted security in and around Kabul to deter Taliban attacks during President Hamid Karzai's second inauguration ceremony.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that several roads leading to Karzai's fortified presidential palace will be closed to traffic.

The ministry has declared a public holiday for government offices in the capital. Kabul residents have been asked to avoid unnecessary journeys.

Kabul's only international airport is to be closed to commercial flights on Thursday.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in the capital ahead of the inauguration. Moreover, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will be among foreign dignitaries to attend the ceremony.

Karzai will take his oath of office on Thursday, three months after an election marred by allegations of widespread fraud and vote rigging failed to produce a winner with the majority of the ballot.

A run-off to the vote was never held, since Abdullah Abdullah, Karzai's main rival, decided to withdraw his bid for presidency.

Taliban militants carried out numerous attacks during the August 20 election.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/111610.html.

Afghan capital readies for Karzai inauguration

By HEIDI VOGT and AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer

KABUL – Security forces increased patrols and helicopter flyovers in the Afghan capital Wednesday, bracing for possible militant attacks during the ceremony that will cement President Hamid Karzai's tumultuous re-election victory.

Karzai will be sworn in for his second five-year term Thursday, with many in the international community hoping he will introduce solid reforms and pave the way for a Cabinet house-cleaning to rid the administration of corrupt officials.

The inauguration comes amid repeated calls and threats from the international community that he reform his government following an election so spoiled by fraud that it took two and half months to resolve.

The U.S. has said that is will not provide any civilian aid to the Afghan government unless it can ensure accountability for the money. Both the U.S. and other NATO countries have also said they are weighing the rampant government corruption and mismanagement in decisions over committing more troops.

Even the ceremony itself is fraught with potential danger. Dignitaries from 42 countries are scheduled to attend, and the event could be a target for militants eager to attack the president and his allies.

There will be no large public ceremony. Instead, the inauguration will be held inside the presidential palace with tight restrictions on who is allowed in. Since an assassination attempt on Karzai at a public parade in 2008, he has stayed away from large public appearances.

The government has declared Thursday a national holiday and has asked the public to stay home to minimize traffic on the capital's clogged roads, while regular flights to and from Kabul airport will be canceled for the day.

Col. Sanam Gul, commander of the 4th Battalion of the Afghan National Army, the key Afghan combat unit in Logar province south of the capital, said his troops along with U.S. forces were increasing patrols and checkpoints leading into Kabul and stopping suspicious vehicles headed in that direction.

"The enemy is now trying to penetrate into Kabul to disrupt the inauguration," Gul said.

Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi said patrols have been stepped up throughout Kabul, and that roads leading to embassies have been blocked.

"We have very tight security inside Kabul, around Kabul, outside Kabul," he said.

The inauguration comes as the reputation of the Karzai government has sunk to new lows. Though dogged by corruption for years, the government was seen as particularly tainted by the August presidential vote and the rampant ballot-box stuffing that took place.

Western diplomats leaned on the Afghan president for weeks before he accepted results that didn't give him the 50 percent needed to win outright. Karzai was eventually declared the winner after his only remaining opponent dropped out because he said there was no way a runoff vote could be fair.

Even before the election, Afghans tended to worry more about the lack of help from their government than attacks from Taliban militants, according to a survey released Wednesday by aid agency Oxfam International.

About 70 percent of the Afghans surveyed between January and April blamed poverty and unemployment for the fighting in their country. Survey respondents were not limited to one choice, and 48 percent of those polled also picked corruption and government ineffectiveness as a major cause of violence. But only 36 percent said that the Taliban were significant cause of fighting.

The survey of about 700 Afghans across fewer than half of the country's provinces is not a scientific representation, but it gives a taste of people's concerns as they prepare for another five years with Karzai.

"This survey shows they're incredibly concerned about the ability of the government to deliver services and the transparency of the government," said Ashley Jackson, a researcher with the British-based charity.

Meanwhile, security and Taliban forces continue to clash in the volatile regions. In the latest violence, a U.S. service member was killed when his vehicle hit a bomb in the south of the country, NATO forces said.

Karzai urges West to respect Afghan sovereignty

Mon Nov 9, 2009

President Hamid Karzai has called on his Western allies to respect the Afghanistan's sovereignty amid the country's fight against corruption.

"We like our partners to have a lot of respect for Afghan sovereignty," Karzai said in an interview with the US Public Broadcasting Service airing Monday.

"We must all be very careful while we are partners with one another... our partnership and our advice is a friendly one and with good intentions and not one that can be interpreted any other way," Karzai added.

Western countries have been pressuring the Afghan president to address corruption in his government.

UK Premier Gordon Brown in November warned Karzai that London will not put soldiers "in harm's way for a government that does not stand up against corruption".

The Afghan leader said that he already was addressing corruption, adding Western countries are also partly responsible for the corruption in Afghanistan.

"Where we have found facts on corrupt practices by senior government officials, we have acted, they have gone to prison," he said.

Karzai went on to explain that donor countries share some of the responsibility for rampant corruption because of a poorly structured system to manage projects.

"There is no accountability of their contracts, and there is a serious corruption in the implementation of those projects. And the responsibility for this corruption is (with) the international community," Karzai said.

His remarks were made one day after the Afghan Foreign Ministry accused foreign critics of using corruption allegations to influence the makeup of the new government.

"Such instructions have violated respect for Afghanistan's national sovereignty," the ministry said.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/110800.html.

Abdullah: Decision to name Karzai president had no legal basis

Kabul (Earth Times - dpa) - Afghan presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday sharply criticized the decision of the country's election commission to declare incumbent Hamid Karzai the winner of Afghanistan's disputed presidential elections. Abdullah, who pulled out of a scheduled November 7 runoff with Karzai on Sunday, said there was "no legal basis" for the decision of the Independent Election Commission (IEC).

However, the former foreign minister refrained from calling for protests and asked his supporters to remain calm.

The IEC is widely perceived to be biased towards Karzai in Afghanistan's drawn-out election quagmire. The August 20 election was marred by massive fraud, mostly favoring the president.

Abdullah withdrew from the race as he said he feared renewed fraud by the president's supporters. The IEC then scrapped the runoff and on Monday declared Karzai elected president.

There are lingering doubts over the legality of the decision, as the Afghan constitution demands a runoff if no candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the vote.

Neither the IEC nor the supreme court were independent, Abdullah said. The supreme court judges would have made the same decision favoring Karzai if the IEC had not done so, he claimed.

Abdullah said he and his supporters would adhere to the law and were ready to make sacrifices for the good of the country.

He ruled out personally participating in a Karzai-led government.

Karzai on Tuesday announced plans to form a government of national unity, which was to include representatives of all political and ethnic groups.

He did not specify whether he would offer to cooperate with Abdullah.

Karzai pledges to form national unity government

Wed Nov 4, 2009

Newly 're-elected' Afghan President Hamid Karzai pledged to form a national unity government one day after he was declared the winner in the fraud-tainted presidential election.

"My government will be for all Afghans, and all those who want to work with me are most welcome, regardless of whether they opposed me in the election or whether they supported me in the election," Karzai told reporters at a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday in his first remarks since being declared the winner on Monday.

However, the president did not elaborate on whether the new cabinet would include ministers from the camp of his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah.

Karzai was declared the winner of Afghanistan's presidential election after Abdullah withdrew from the November 7 run-off vote, citing serious concerns about the election process.

The president also promised to take tough action to overcome the "stigma" of corruption which has tarnished his administration's image since he was first elected in 2004.

In addition, Karzai is trying to persuade the Taliban to join mainstream politics.

However, the militants have vowed to continue their campaign against the US-led forces across Afghanistan until the foreign forces leave the country.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/110393.html.