London:
http://elections.ndtv.com/news_story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20090092725&keyword=newsAmid intense speculation about his running mates, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has picked a former warlord for his reelection campaign, a move likely to anger the US and its allies, a news report has said.
The Afghan leader defied intense international pressure not to pick Mohammad Fahim, whom he selected as one of his two would-be vice-presidents.
The former militia leader, who goes by the honorary title of Marshal Fahim, is disliked by many Afghans and the west for his opposition to the disbandment of the private armies of Afghanistan's warlords, the Guardian online said. Also on his re-election ticket was current vice-president Karim Khalili, a leader of the Hazara community.
A senior international diplomat expressed disappointment, saying he was "not enthusiastic" about the choice of Marshal Fahim in the face of efforts to "move Afghanistan out of the warlord era".
According to critics, Karzai's biggest mistake was to bring many of the warlords into government after the US-led toppling of the Taliban regime.
"The question really is: if Karzai gets killed on August 21 (the day after the election date) who is the president? It's Marshal Fahim," a western official was quoted as saying by the British news portal.
The prospect of a return to government by Fahim is likely to anger the US and its allies, which have put great emphasis on improving the quality of Karzai's cabinet.
The Afghan leader defied intense international pressure not to pick Mohammad Fahim, whom he selected as one of his two would-be vice-presidents.
The former militia leader, who goes by the honorary title of Marshal Fahim, is disliked by many Afghans and the west for his opposition to the disbandment of the private armies of Afghanistan's warlords, the Guardian online said. Also on his re-election ticket was current vice-president Karim Khalili, a leader of the Hazara community.
A senior international diplomat expressed disappointment, saying he was "not enthusiastic" about the choice of Marshal Fahim in the face of efforts to "move Afghanistan out of the warlord era".
According to critics, Karzai's biggest mistake was to bring many of the warlords into government after the US-led toppling of the Taliban regime.
"The question really is: if Karzai gets killed on August 21 (the day after the election date) who is the president? It's Marshal Fahim," a western official was quoted as saying by the British news portal.
The prospect of a return to government by Fahim is likely to anger the US and its allies, which have put great emphasis on improving the quality of Karzai's cabinet.
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