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Karzai to replace key northern Afghan rulers
Kabul, Oct 25: Afghan President Hamid Karzai is to remove two strong northern rulers and several other key officials as part of an effort to extend his authority outside the capital, a northern commander said today.
Kabul, Oct 25: Afghan President Hamid Karzai is to remove
two strong northern rulers and several other key officials as part
of an effort to extend his authority outside the capital, a northern
commander said today.
The shake-up, the most extensive since Karzai came to power in
2001, Affects Commander Ustad Atta Mohammad, Uzbek Warlord General
Abdul Rashid Dostum and governors and police chiefs of four
provinces loyal to them, Atta told mediapersons.
The move follows this week's security meeting in Kabul and intense fighting between Atta and Dostum's supporters in the north earlier this month.
Karzai faces a dual challenge of controlling warlords and military commanders allied with him, and countering the threat posed by the Taliban fighters who have stepped up their attacks in recent months.
Afghan officials said today they had arrested 21 Taliban and their supporters in the eastern province of Ghazni and another 15 Taliban from a southern district in Kandahar province in anti-rebel operations in the last three days.
Atta, whose Jamiat-e-Islami faction comprises ethnic talks, is the commander of a military corps while Dostum has been serving as Karzai's adviser in security and military affairs.
Atta and Dostum, whose forces have intermittently fought each other since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, would be given positions in the central government, Atta said.
The governors and police chiefs of Sari Pul, Balkh, Samangan and Jozjan provinces may also be given new positions, he said.
''The first move will be to replace the governors and police chiefs. Those who have good record will be given new positions,'' Atta said.
''We will be moved to Kabul. We will be based in Kabul, but it is not yet clear what positions we will be given.''
Atta said he welcomed Karzai's decision but Dostum was not immediately available for a comment. Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali is due to travel to the north tomorrow for talks with Dostum, Atta said.
Both Atta and Dostum, despite being top officials of the government, run their own armies of thousands of fighters.
Their bloody power struggle has been a major setback for Karzai's efforts to unite and rebuild Afghanistan after more than 23 years of foreign intervention and civil war.
Karzai's imminent reshuffle of the northern region coincides with the launch of the disarmament process of about 100,000 factional fighters. The first phase, supervised by the United Nations, started yesterday from the northern province of Kunduz.
Bureau Report
The move follows this week's security meeting in Kabul and intense fighting between Atta and Dostum's supporters in the north earlier this month.
Karzai faces a dual challenge of controlling warlords and military commanders allied with him, and countering the threat posed by the Taliban fighters who have stepped up their attacks in recent months.
Afghan officials said today they had arrested 21 Taliban and their supporters in the eastern province of Ghazni and another 15 Taliban from a southern district in Kandahar province in anti-rebel operations in the last three days.
Atta, whose Jamiat-e-Islami faction comprises ethnic talks, is the commander of a military corps while Dostum has been serving as Karzai's adviser in security and military affairs.
Atta and Dostum, whose forces have intermittently fought each other since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, would be given positions in the central government, Atta said.
The governors and police chiefs of Sari Pul, Balkh, Samangan and Jozjan provinces may also be given new positions, he said.
''The first move will be to replace the governors and police chiefs. Those who have good record will be given new positions,'' Atta said.
''We will be moved to Kabul. We will be based in Kabul, but it is not yet clear what positions we will be given.''
Atta said he welcomed Karzai's decision but Dostum was not immediately available for a comment. Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali is due to travel to the north tomorrow for talks with Dostum, Atta said.
Both Atta and Dostum, despite being top officials of the government, run their own armies of thousands of fighters.
Their bloody power struggle has been a major setback for Karzai's efforts to unite and rebuild Afghanistan after more than 23 years of foreign intervention and civil war.
Karzai's imminent reshuffle of the northern region coincides with the launch of the disarmament process of about 100,000 factional fighters. The first phase, supervised by the United Nations, started yesterday from the northern province of Kunduz.
Bureau Report