Karzai vows Crack down on Warlords, Drugs
Pakistan Times Monitoring Desk

President Hamid Karzai pledged Thursday to use his five-year term as Afghanistan’s first elected president to crack down on warlords and the re-emerging country’s booming drug economy.

Accepting his victory in the historic Oct. 9 ballot, he also offered an olive branch to the Taliban, even as an offshoot of the former ruling militia threatened to kill three kidnapped U.N. workers who helped organize the vote.

People's Trust

“The Afghan people have placed their trust in us, for which we are very grateful,” Karzai said in the grounds of his bomb-damaged Kabul palace, flanked by his two smiling running-mates and circled by bodyguards. “They voted for a government based on laws and institutions, and that is what we are going to provide.”

Karzai has said that smashing Afghanistan’s opium and heroin smugglers will be his top priority, and the key to reining in warlords resisting the feeble authority of the central government.

He has also pledged to clear his Cabinet of faction leaders who helped the United States oust the Taliban three years ago but have proved to be deadweights in office.

No Private Militia

Asked if any warlords or government officials believed to profit from drugs would survive the purge, Karzai said: “There will not be any private militia forces in Afghanistan.”

“There will definitely, definitely not be any drug thing in Afghanistan,” he said. “We’re going to be dedicated, strong in working against that.”

He said he would not announce his Cabinet before his inauguration in December.

Of Taliban Followers

But he renewed an offer to followers of the Taliban — with the exception of a few dozen top fugitives — “to come and participate in the rebuilding of this country.”

“The rest of them, thousands of them, they are sons of this earth, they are welcome,” he said. Election officials declared Karzai the winner Wednesday after more than three weeks of laborious counting and arguments about whether he had cheated his way to victory.

Qanooni, Others accept Result

Yunus Qanooni, who finished second with 16 percent, compared with Karzai’s 55 percent, accepted the result just hours before Karzai made his televised acceptance speech.

“For me, Afghanistan’s national interests are the most important,” said Qanooni, Karzai’s former education minister. “If we didn’t accept the result, the country would go toward a crisis.”

Ethnic Hazara chieftain Mohammed Mohaqeq and Uzbek strongman Abdul Rashid Dostum followed suit.

A boycott could have undermined Karzai’s chances of extending his authority across a country still torn by ethnic tensions, and poisoned the political atmosphere for parliamentary elections slated for next spring.

Foreign experts drafted in to examine the allegations found a string of irregularities, including ballot-stuffing, but said they couldn’t have changed the result.

Karzai secures 80pc votes in Pakistan

President Karzai received overwhelming majority of the votes in Pakistan with around 80pc of the approximately 569000 valid votes cast in his favor. In Pakistan, his (Karzai) nearest rival was Muhammad Mohaqiq with around 8pc of the votes.

According to a release of International Organization for Migration (IOM) which conducted the Afghan polls in Pakistan and Iran here on Friday stated that in Iran, Mr. Karzai secured 44.4pc votes narrowly edged out Muhammad Mohaqiq (44.0pc). This was based on approximately 236000 valid votes cast in Iran.

The Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body confirmed that Mr. Karzai was the winner in the country’s first democratic election with 55.4pc of the over 8 million eligible votes cast in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. The candidate with the second highest number of votes was Yonus Qanooni (16.3 pc) , followed by Mohammad Mohaqiq (11.7pc) and Abdul Rashid Dostum (10pc).

The announcement of the results of the October 9 Presidential Election had been delayed until yesterday when a special independent panel of investigation delivered a report on alleged voting irregularities. The panel, established by the UN, found that while there had been some incidents of electoral fraud and voting irregularities, these were not significant enough to have affected the outcome of the election.

Peter Erben, the Director of IOM’s out of country voting programme, responsible for the elections in Pakistan and Iran on behalf of the Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, said that the out of country election- the largest the world has ever seen had been extremely successful.

Erben also thanked the governments of Pakistan and Iran for their support and ensuring that there were no security incidents. Over the next few weeks in Iran and Pakistan, the IOM out of country voting programme will be closed down and the equipment transported to Afghanistan for future use by the Afghan government, it concluded.

Musharraf felicitates Karzai on Victory in Elections

Meanwhile, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf Friday felicitated Afghan President Hamid Karzai on his victory in the Presidential election.

In his message, President Musharraf expressed pleasure on the victory of Hamid Karzai and expressed confidence that the brotherly relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan will cement further during days ahead.

"It is with immense pleasure that I felicitate you on your resounding victory in the landmark Presidential Election in Afghanistan," President Musharraf said.

The Strong Mandate

He said the strong mandate, President Karzai had won, was a befitting recognition of his leadership qualities.

"It is no less a tribute to the Afghan people who, in a remarkable display of political sense and maturity, have reposed their trust in your vision and policies," the President said.

Pak-Afghan Ties

"I am confident that the brotherly relations that exist between Pakistan and Afghanistan will continue to grow from strength to strength," he added.

The President hoped that bilateral relations would indeed remain a strong factor of stability in the region and said, "I look forward to continue working with you to that end".

He also wished every success to President Karzai in the onerous task of nation building and assured him of Pakistan's continued support and cooperation.

"Please accept Excellency, my best wishes for your personal health and happiness as also for the progress and well-being of the brotherly people of Afghanistan," Pervez Musharraf added.

Shaukat Aziz felicitates Hamid Karzai

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Saturday felicitated Afghan President Hamid Karzai on his victory in the Presidential election and termed it a good omen for future of democracy in Afghanistan.

In a greeting message, Prime Minister Aziz extended warmest felicitations on "splendid victory" on his own and on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan.

"Your able leadership and enlightened policies have won the trust and confidence of the Afghan people. Their enthusiastic participation in the landmark polls is indeed a good omen for the future of democracy in Afghanistan," Shaukat Aziz said.

He said the people of Pakistan share the joy and jubilation of their Afghan brethren. "We believe that, with the successful completion of the historic Presidential election, Afghanistan has turned the corner. It holds a brighter promise of achieving the goals of peace and political stability, social and economic development."

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz expressed his best wishes for President Karzai's long life and well being and for the continued progress and prosperity of the brotherly Afghan people.●