Kabul, May 16: President Hamid Karzai has appointed new governors to provinces in central Parwan and Badakhshan in the northeast, Afghan public television has announced. The governor of Parwan, Mohammad Amaan Hamimi has been named governor of Badakhshan, according to an official statement shown on television yesterday. Hamimi is to be replaced in Parwan by Zaraar Ahmad. The former governor of Badakhshan will become an advisor to the interior ministry.
Since becoming president in late 2001 Karzai, who has the support of the United States and the international community, has struggled to extend his power outside the capital Kabul and establish his influence in the provinces in the face of powerful local commanders, tribal warlords and governors.
Since the beginning of the week Afghan press has reported Karzai's dissatisfaction with certain governors, particularly those who refuse to settle taxes due to the central government, and his will to carry out changes to the executive powers of the provinces. Bureau Report