Kabul
Hamid Karzai, who was declared the winner of Afghanistan’s first presidential election, said this week that he would use his five-year term to rein in the warlords and druglords who still control much of the country. “The Afghan people have placed their trust in us, for which we are very grateful,” Karzai said. “They voted for a government based on laws and institutions, and that is what we are going to provide.” Karzai won more than 55 percent of the vote, and his three top rivals—former education minister Yunus Qanooni, ethnic Hazara chief Mohammed Mohaqeq, and ethnic Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum—accepted his victory. Karzai won’t reveal his new Cabinet until after his inauguration, later this month, but he said it would not include the faction leaders who obstructed his efforts while he was interim president.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks groundSpeed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resignsSpeed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
