Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Afghan presidential contender denies Karzai deal
Sat Aug 8, 2009 1:32pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Golnar Motevalli
MAIMANEH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - One of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's main rivals denied reports on Saturday that he had agreed to withdraw from the August 20 election and accept a leadership post under Karzai.
Afghan and Western media have speculated that former finance minister Ashraf Ghani, seen as one of two leading challengers to the president, might pull out of the vote and accept a senior administrative post to help Karzai win.
"I've been approached repeatedly, the offer is on the table. I have not accepted it. The issue is the extent of crisis. We are in a very difficult moment in our history," Ghani told reporters in Maimaneh, capital of northern Faryab province.
"I intensely disagree with the course of conduct that Mr Karzai and his entourage have adopted during the last five years," he said.
But he did not rule out a return to government in future, if allowed to implement his plans.
"There would have to be very very firm commitments, time-bound set of activities, full embracement of the program that I've articulated for the next 10 years."
Ghani took a swipe at Karzai's tactic of relying on the support of ethnic chieftains, many of whom led armed factions during decades of civil war.
"The problem is that this government has turned into a contract among ethnic entrepreneurs," Ghani said.
"There are a number of people who in the name of being Pashtun or Hazara or Uzbek or other groups come and claim to speak for them. They don't speak for these people. They haven't done anything to change the lives of these people," he said.
Ghani, who was finance minister under Karzai from 2002 to 2004, was visiting the predominantly ethnic-Uzbek city of Maimaneh to rally support for his presidential campaign but his rallerallyy attracted only about 150-200 followers.
Posters of Uzbek leader Rashid Dostum hung throughout the city, showing the extent of the challenge Ghani faces.
Dostum, a former guerrilla fighter notorious for making and breaking alliances, won 10 percent of the total vote in the last election in 2004 by sweeping Uzbek areas. He has asked his followers to back Karzai this time around.
"In Faryab, whoever Dostum votes for, we'll follow his word. Dostum is our heart, he is our kidneys...whoever Dostum votes for, we'll vote the same," said 21-year old passerby Sayed Rahmatollah.
Like Karzai, Ghani is a Pashtun, from Afghanistan's largest ethnic group who have traditionally led the country.
In the 2004 election, Karzai swept Pashtun areas, while the only rivals to achieve more than two percent of the vote were Dostum and two other ethnic minority candidates who primarily won support among their groups. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Georgia war changed map for good: Russia's Medvedev
Also on Reuters
IBM sees big opportunity in water management IT
Blog: Religious Left pushes for healthcare reform
U.S. government will not get secret company Internet data
More International News
Iran charges French woman, embassy workers with plot
Fighting erupts between Taliban rivals and Pakistan government
| Video
Indonesia believes top militant dead, thwarts attack
French embassy targeted in Mauritania
Huge crowd shows solidarity with Tel Aviv gays
More International News...
Featured Broker sponsored link
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Iran charges French woman, embassy workers with plot
Michael Douglas' son could get life in prison
Healthcare critics make outlandish claims: Obama
Angry Americans disrupt town-hall healthcare talks
"G.I. Joe" should be court-martialed
Protesters disrupt town-hall healthcare talks
UPDATE 3-Berkshire profit up 14 percent as stocks rebound
Psychopaths have faulty brain connections, scientists find | Video
Fighting erupts between Taliban rivals and Pakistan government | Video
Nine killed in helicopter, plane collision over NY
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Ladies Who Launch
Hillary in South Africa
"The worst may be behind us"
Doubts over Mehsud death
U.S. Job cuts fading
Taiwan hit by typhoon
Taiwan typhoon intensifies
Jackson's mom gets kids
Hopes fade for Tonga ferry survivors
Taliban chief probably dead
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Your View
Where were you when the Wall came down?
Did you live under the communist regime of East Germany? Sneak across the border to escape to West Berlin? Celebrate the fall of the wall in 1989? Send us your images. Blog
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.