Karzai casts long shadow of doubt

The return of Hamid Karzai as Afghan President on a day when two important developments took place: the cancellation of the run- off polls and the swift declaration of Karzai's promotion to office casts a shadow of doubt over proceedings.

Abdullah Abdullah's withdrawal came as a big blow, not only to the Afghan people — who have been thirsting for good and stable governance — but also to the US and Britain. But, as is typical of western hypocrisy, the action had been portrayed as taken for the greater good of Afghanistan's national unity.

This is far from the truth. Abdullah's withdrawal exemplifies a condemnation of Afghan politics; the corruption that governs it and more importantly, the impotency of the key allies and Nato towards finding a tangible political solution to address the malaise.

Sound bytes by Hillary Clinton and Gordon Brown to support the ‘next Afghan president' now do not add up to much except empty political rhetoric against the violence that is being piled on by a resurgent Taliban.

New strategies for propping up the country are constantly being drawn up and discarded with ridiculous consistency as was seen yesterday. In the midst of this the validity of Karzai's office and his country's future hang in the balance.