The Karzai administration was the government of Afghanistan under President Hamid Karzai, who became the head of state of Afghanistan in December 2001 after the Taliban government was overthrown. Karzai was appointed at the 2002 Loya Jirga as the Interim President of the Afghan Transitional Administration. After the 2004 Afghan presidential election, he became the President of Afghanistan.
President of the transitional government 2001–2004
In October 2001, U.S.-led forces invaded Afghanistan. About two months later, the Taliban government was overthrown.
In December 2001, political leaders gathered in Germany to agree on new leadership structures. Under the 5 December Bonn Agreement they formed an interim Transitional Administration and named Karzai Chairman of a 29-member governing committee. He was sworn in as leader on 22 December. The Loya Jirga of 13 June 2002, appointed Karzai Interim holder of the new position as President of the Afghan Transitional Administration.
Karzai re-enacted the original coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani at the shrine of Sher-i-Surkh outside of Kandahar where he had leaders of various Afghan tribes, including a descendant of the religious leader that originally chose Ahmad Shah Durrani, as key players in this event. Further evidence that Karzai views himself fulfilling a Durrani monarch's role arise from statements furnished by close allies within his government.
Karzai tried to make peace and rebuild trust between communities in Afghanistan after years of war, by representing everyone in a big tent government, including Islamists (many of which were former rivals), former Communists, royalists from the monarchy-era, and ethnic minorities.
2004 Afghan presidential election
When Karzai was a candidate in the 9 October 2004, presidential election, he won 21 of the 34 provinces, defeating his 22 opponents and becoming the first democratically elected leader of Afghanistan.
Although his campaigning was limited due to fears of violence, elections passed without significant incident. Following investigation by the UN of alleged voting irregularities, the national election commission on 3 November declared Karzai winner, without runoff, with 55.4% of the vote. This represented 4.3 million of the total 8.1 million votes cast. The election took place safely in spite of a surge of insurgent activity.
Karzai was sworn in as President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on 7 December 2004, at a formal ceremony in Kabul. Many interpreted the ceremony as a symbolically important "new start" for the war-torn nation. Notable guests at the inauguration included the country's former King, Zahir Shah, three former US presidents, and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.
President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
After winning a democratic mandate in the 2004 election and removing many of the former Northern Alliance warlords from his cabinet, it was thought that Karzai would pursue a more aggressively reformist path in 2005. However, Karzai proved to be more cautious than was expected.
Ever since Karzai's new administration took over in 2004, the economy of Afghanistan has been growing rapidly for the first time in many years. Government revenue is increasing every year, although it is still heavily dependent on foreign aid.
On 20 September 2006, Karzai told the United Nations General Assembly that Afghanistan has become the "worst victim" of terrorism.RFE/RL, Karzai Says Afghanistan 'Worst Victim' Of Terrorism Karzai said terrorism is "rebounding" in his country, with militants infiltrating the borders to wage attacks on civilians. He stated, "This does not have its seeds alone in Afghanistan. Military action in the country will, therefore, not deliver the shared goal of eliminating terrorism." He demanded assistance from the international community to destroy terrorist sanctuaries inside and outside Afghanistan. "You have to look beyond Afghanistan to the sources of terrorism," he told the UN General Assembly, and "destroy terrorist sanctuaries beyond" the country, dismantle the elaborate networks in the region that recruit, indoctrinate, train, finance, arm, and deploy terrorists. These activities are also robbing thousands of Afghan children of their right to education, and prevent health workers from doing their jobs in Afghanistan. In addition he promised to eliminate opium-poppy cultivation in the country, which helps fuel the ongoing insurgency. He has repeatedly demanded that NATO and U.S.-led coalition forces take more care when conducting military operations in residential areas to avoid civilian casualties which undermine his government's already weak standing in parts of the country.
During the Karzai administration, public discontent grew about corruption and the civilian casualties in the fight against the Taliban insurgency. In May 2006, riots broke out in Kabul, when after a fatal traffic accident in the town involving a US military convoy security forces opened fire on protesters. During the rush, a truck went out of control and crashed into a dozen vehicles in Kabul's northern outskirts, killing at least one person and injuring six. Angry Afghans then threw stones, smashing the windows of the convoy vehicles. Afghan police also opened fire when they came to the assistance of the US troops. Rioters set two police cars alight. At least seven civilians were killed during the protest and 40 wounded. Thousands of protesters marched through the capital shouting slogans against Karzai and the US. By early afternoon, up to 2,000 protesters had gathered in central Kabul, some marching on parliament and some on the presidential palace. Several hundred more congregated at an intersection near the US embassy. A few dozen people forced their way past a police cordon guarding the road to the US embassy and threw stones at vehicles carrying foreigners into the compound, prompting the occupants to fire into the air before turning back. The unrest left at least seven people dead and 40 injured.
In a video broadcast on 24 September 2006, Karzai stated that if the money wasted on the Iraq War was actually spent on rebuilding Afghanistan, his country would "be in heaven in less than one year". In May 2007, after as many as 51 Afghan civilians were killed in a bombing, Karzai asserted that his government "can no longer accept" casualties caused by the US and NATO operations.
Assassination attempts
5 September 2002: An assassination attempt was made on Hamid Karzai in Kandahar City. A gunman wearing the uniform of the new Afghan National Army opened fire, wounding Gul Agha Sherzai (former governor of Kandahar) and an American Special Operations officer. One of the President's bodyguards, a bystander who knocked down the gunman, and the gunman himself were killed when Karzai's American bodyguards returned fire. Recently, some pictures of the US Navy's DEVGRU responding to the attempt have surfaced. Allegedly, one of their members was wounded. 16 September 2004: An assassination was attempted on Karzai when a rocket missed the helicopter he was flying in while en route to Gardez. 10 June 2007: The Taliban attempted to assassinate Karzai in Ghazni where Karzai was giving a speech to elders. The Taliban fired approximately 12 rockets, some of which landed away from the crowd. Karzai was not hurt in the incident and was transported away from the location after finishing his speech. 27 April 2008: Insurgents, reportedly from the Haqqani network, used automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades to attack a military parade that Karzai was attending in Kabul. Karzai was safe, but at least three people were killed, including a parliamentarian, a ten-year-old girl, and a minority leader, and ten injured.Gopal, Amand, "The most deadly US foe in Afghanistan", Christian Science Monitor, 31 May 2009 Others attending the event included government ministers, former warlords, diplomats and the military top brass, all of whom had gathered to mark the 16th anniversary of the fall of the Afghan communist government to the mujahideen. Responding to the attack during the ceremony, the United Nations said the attackers "have shown their utter disrespect for the history and people of Afghanistan." Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, stating, "We fired rockets at the scene of the celebration." He went on to say there were 6 Taliban at the scene and that 3 were killed. "Our aim was not to directly hit someone," Mujahed said when asked if the intention was to kill Karzai. "We just wanted to show to the world that we can attack anywhere we want to."
Foreign relations
Karzai's relations with the United States were the strongest, because the U.S. was the leading nation helping to rebuild Afghanistan. The United States helped put him in office in late 2001 to lead his nation. Karzai's relations with Pakistan were also strong, especially with Pakistan's Awami National Party (ANP). In December 2007, Karzai and his delegates travelled to Islamabad, Pakistan, for a usual meeting with Pervez Musharraf on trade ties and intelligence sharing between the two Islamic states.Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN), Islamabad, Kabul agree on intelligence cooperation . 27 December 2007. Karzai also met and had a 45-minute talk with Benazir Bhutto on the morning of 27 December, hours before her trip to Liaquat National Bagh, where she was assassinated after her speech.PAN, Bhutto, Karzai meeting proved the first & last one . 28 December 2007. After Bhutto's death, Karzai called her his sister and a brave woman who had a clear vision "for her own country, for Afghanistan, and for the region – a vision of democracy, prosperity, and peace." In September 2008, Karzai was invited on a special visit to witness the swearing in ceremony of Asif Ali Zardari, who became the new President of Pakistan.San Francisco Chronicle, Pakistan's Zardari sworn in as new president Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have improved since PPP members Zardari and Yousaf Raza Gillani took office. The two nations often make contacts with one another concerning the war on terrorism and trade. Pakistan even allowed NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan to launch attacks on illegal militant groups in Pakistan. This was something strongly opposed by the previous government of Pakistan. The two states finally signed into law the long-awaited Afghanistan–Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement in 2011, which among other things allow shipment truck to travel from one state to the other.
Although the U.S. and others often charge that Iran is meddling in Afghanistan's affairs, Karzai stated that Iran is a friend despite Iranian-made weapons being found in his country.Los Angeles Times, U.S. says Pakistan, Iran helping Taliban
We did interdict a shipment, without question the Revolutionary Guard's core Quds Force, through a known Taliban facilitator. Three of the individuals were killed... 48 122 millimetre rockets were intercepted with their various components... Iranians certainly view as making life more difficult for us if Afghanistan is unstable. We don't have that kind of relationship with the Iranians. That's why I am particularly troubled by the interception of weapons coming from Iran. But we know that it's more than weapons; it's money; it's also according to some reports, training at Iranian camps as well. – General David Petraeus, Commander of US-NATO forces in Afghanistan, 16 March 2011