KABUL, July 20: Afghan President Hamid Karzai gave three powerful warlords new official posts on Tuesday in an apparent bid to bring private militias into the government fold ahead of presidential polls.

The appointments came a week after Mr Karzai announced a crackdown on private militias saying that provincial warlords pose a bigger threat to stability than the Taliban insurgency, highlighting the problems of the central government in exerting control over restive provinces.

General Atta Mohammad was promoted to governor of the troubled northern province of Balkh, presidential spokesman Jawad Ludin told reporters. Atta Mohammad has been involved in factional skirmishes with rival warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostam near the provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif.

He recently placed the city's government- appointed police chief under house arrest and directed his troops to take control of the city. General Khan Mohammad, army commander in the former Taliban stronghold of southern province Kandahar, and General Hazrat Ali, army commander of eastern Nangarhar province, were both made police chiefs of their respective provinces.

"President Hamid Karzai signed the decree reassigning three corps commanders," Mr Ludin said. -AFP