Pakhtoons warn Karzai of revolt

Published July 27, 2002

CHAMAN, July 26: Pakhtoon leaders in Afghanistan’s western province of Herat on Friday told President Hamid Karzai to remove the ethnic Tajik governor or risk an armed revolt.

“We have decided that if (Tajik) governor Ismail Khan is not removed we will launch an armed struggle to oust him,” Pakhtoon leader Abdul Karim Khan Achakzai told reporters in Chaman after a meeting in Herat.

The area has seen intense fighting between rival ethnic groups in the key Shindand district and in the neighbouring Farah district.

At least 12 people — seven Tajiks and five Pakhtoons — have been killed in fighting which erupted early this week over control over the district, home to Afghanistan’s second largest airbase.

Achakzai said the meeting of Pashtun leaders in Herat asked Karzai, himself a Pashtun, to order an inquiry into the “looting of Pakhtoons by Tajik forces”.—AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Surveillance state
Updated 04 Jun, 2023

Surveillance state

IN the midst of the madness, finally some sanity. Questions critical to the right to privacy of citizens bombarded ...
Transport crisis
04 Jun, 2023

Transport crisis

LIKE many other public-sector projects, governments past and present have promised numerous times to ‘revive’ ...
The Buzdar mystery
04 Jun, 2023

The Buzdar mystery

THE departure of former Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar from politics is not really surprising as the PTI is...
New IMF programme?
Updated 03 Jun, 2023

New IMF programme?

The tranche’s release is crucial to the government’s plans to provide relief to the public in the budget.
Pemra’s edict
03 Jun, 2023

Pemra’s edict

IN an effort to mould the narrative, and prevent “undesirable” opinions from making it to the airwaves, Pemra ...
Crypto dreams
03 Jun, 2023

Crypto dreams

THOUGH the majority of the global financial community has wholeheartedly embraced the promise of cryptocurrencies,...