UN chief `troubled` by Karzai rhetoric

Vienna: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
says recent remarks by Afghan President Hamid Karzai are
troubling and unhelpful.

Karzai alleged in a public forum last week that the UN
and the international community interfered in last year`s
Afghan elections.
He also reportedly has threatened to join the
insurgents unless the US and its allies ease up on pressure to
reform. His spokesman has since denied the reports.

Ban Ki-moon told reporters today he is "troubled by
all this rhetoric," saying it is neither helpful nor
desirable.
Ban said the international community expects
harmonious and full cooperation from the Afghan government.

PTI