Sunday, August 17, 2003
Hamid Karzai has made a couple of moves aimed at exerting authority outside of Kabul, peacefully removing one regional governor and one military commander. See previous "good news from Afghanistan" posts here, here and here.
Afghan Governor Resigns As Karzai Asserts Control (washingtonpost.com)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Aug. 16 -- The powerful governor of a province in southern Afghanistan formally relinquished power today as President Hamid Karzai asserted more control in the far-flung provinces and began to rein in regional warlords.
Gul Agha Shirzai handed power to Yusuf Pashtun in a quiet ceremony at the governor's residence. Shirzai will become a federal minister of urban affairs.
"Afghanistan is a democratic country," Shirzai said at the ceremony, held in Kandahar -- the spiritual headquarters of the former Taliban leadership. "President Hamid Karzai has authority to change or dismiss anyone in Afghanistan." [...]
