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As the days are closing to the second landmark Presidential Elections in Afghanistan’s recent history, the sitting president is seeking his re-election. His campaign is running at full swing. To his credit he has seven years of presidential experience in running a war torn nation. First he was heroically saved by the American commandoes from the siege of notorious Taliban and brought to the presidential palace as the head of transitional administration of Afghanistan through a UN cum US sponsored accord struck at Bonn, Germany soon after the ouster of Taliban forces. Later he remained in the seat for another year till the elections were finally formulated in 2004. Since then he has been the elected president of his country.
On August 20 he will most probably be re-elected as in a much decentralized Afghanistan with a presidential form of government; there still has come forth none to challenge him with as much of strength as that of Karzai himself. However, powerful warlords have come together by forming National Front of Afghanistan, an alliance of Mujahideen warlords under one umbrella, to challenge Karzai.
To the good luck of Karzai, the first fissures amongst Mujahideen leadership arose when one of the strongest allies of Mujahideen alliance Muhammad Qaseem Fahim, the deputy to the legendary Mujahideen commander late Ahmad Shah Masood, parted ways with the National Front of Afghanistan and sided with Karzai, who nominated him as his first vice. The National Front which appeared to have panicked Karzai in its earlier days of foundation now appears rugged characterized by disunity amongst its component small political parties which number over a dozen. In one case, Paywand-e-Milli, a small political party run by the warlords from Baghlan Province which still is an active ally of the National Front has formally backed the candidature of President Karzai which simply can be interpreted as nothing but cheap loyalty shift that characterized afghan guerilla war of the late 1990’s as well.
In a more stunning move the spokesman of hardliner Islamic Party of Afghanistan, Hizb-e-Islami, announced its due support for Hamid Karzai terming it their welcome reaction to Karzai’s recent invitation of Taliban and Muslim hardliners to cast votes rather than fighting the established Islamic government of Afghanistan. While Karzai is happy about his campaign gaining momentum by the declaration of announcements by expected and unexpected sources, he is much worried about the recent diplomatic incursions of his strongest backer, the United States of America. Since much of the political landscape of Afghanistan, like Pakistan, is shaped by the US think tanks and strategists, Karzai is worried and is trying to do his best to please his master.
