Afghanistan’s president and vice-president accused each other of being US stooges during a recent cabinet meeting which degenerated into a furious row, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
In a clash which showed how fragile the Western-backed government has become, President Hamid Karzai was labelled a corrupt incompetent by his own understudy, Ahmad Zia Massoud. He responded in kind, saying Mr Massoud was part of an American conspiracy to oust him.
The ferocity of the infighting reflects a collapse in support for the Afghan president - both within the Afghan coalitions who have supported him since his election in 2004, and among his backers in Britain, the United States, the European Union and NATO. During a visit to Kabul last week, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that British financial and military support for the Afghanistan would only continue if Mr Karzai’s government raised its game.
Tensions erupted after Mr Massoud made a speech blaming greed and corruption in the Karzai administration for the hunger and poverty in the country. He also said that Mr Karzai’s plan to delay the May election until August 20 and extend his term until then was unconstitutional.
The row lasted for ten minutes and had to be broken up by cabinet colleagues, who eventually moved the men onto the meeting’s business agenda.
In launching such a public attack, Mr Massoud has joined a growing chorus of senior Afghan politicians questioning the legitimacy of President Karzai’s intention to remain in power after his term formally ends in May. As the leader of the most powerful family in northern Afghanistan, and the brother of Ahmed Shah Massoud, a legendary Mujahideen general, Mr Massoud’s comments are not to be lightly dismissed.
The Afghan constitution states elections should be held by late April, with the president’s term finishing on May 21. However, the Karzai-appointed independent election commission has said preparations cannot be finalised in time for April and the poll must wait three months for US troop reinforcements to bring security.
Opposition MPs fear that if President Karzai remains in power during the three month delay, he will use the state apparatus to bolster his campaign. Instead they are calling for a caretaker government led by someone not running for president.
President Karzai has said he does not know whether his duty ends on May 21, or in December, five years after he was sworn in.
“I’m consulting on this issue and I will appear and announce my decision,” he declared recently.
His opponents blame the international community for preparing to prop up an unconstitutional government. The National Front, the main opposition alliance, is expected to bring its supporters onto the streets in protest when the snows melt.
Senior Western diplomats confess they have been surprised by the strength of feeling in parliament and fear political upheaval could destabilise the country during the pending Taliban summer offensive. One official said the coming months will bring the “toughest test yet” of the country’s Parliament and constitution.
“The biggest fear is what would be the legitimacy of this government after its term has finished,” said Sayed Mahmoud Hussamudin Al-Gailani, a national assembly member from Ghazni province.
He said an illegitimate government would lend weight to Taliban propaganda and that the row with Mr Massoud was damaging to both the president and Afghanistan.
Mr Massoud made his comments during a speech to commemorate the Russian withdraw from Afghanistan. This week he also criticised the president for keeping a stranglehold on decision making and said the vice presidents were largely symbolic.
“Only the decisions and recommendations which are according to the president’s desire are put into practice, otherwise, they are kept on hold,” he said.
However Karzai supporters say removing the president prematurely would lead to a dangerous power vacuum that insurgents could exploit.
“In my opinion three months does not make a huge difference,” said Safia Siddiqi, an MP for Nangahar province. “It’s against the constitution, but the constitution is not the Holy Koran.”
Tags: Afghanistan, Ahmad Zia Massoud, greed and corruption, President Hamid Karzai
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