Kabul
Afghan President Hamid Karzai this week confirmed that he would run in the October presidential election—but without his powerful defense minister as a running mate. Defense Minister Mohammed Qassim Fahim, a prominent Northern Alliance warlord, was widely expected to be one of the two vice presidential candidates on Karzai’s ticket. But Karzai has grown increasingly critical of the warlords and their private militias, recently calling them “the biggest threat” to Afghanistan’s security. Fahim commands around 50,000 fighters and has been reluctant to disarm them. In his place, Karzai picked Ahmed Zia Masoud, currently the Afghan ambassador to Russia. He is the younger brother of Ahmed Shah Masoud, the warlord who was assassinated by al Qaida just before the 9/11 attacks.
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.
-
The best crime fiction of 2025The Week Recommends These page-turners will keep you on the edge of your seat
-
Will divisions over trans issue derail Keir Starmer's government?Today's Big Question Rebellion is brewing following the Supreme Court's ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex under equality law
-
Why UK scientists are trying to dim the SunIn The Spotlight The UK has funded controversial geoengineering techniques that could prove helpful in slowing climate change
