Deputy labels President Karzai as corrupt and incompetent

By Ben Farmer and Dean Nelson

Kabul: Afghanistan's president and vice-president accused each other of being American stooges during angry exchanges at a cabinet meeting.

In a clash which showed how fragile the Western-backed government has become, President Hamid Karzai was labelled a corrupt incompetent by his own understudy, Ahmad Zia Masoud.

Karzai responded by saying that Masoud was part of a US conspiracy to oust him. The infighting reflects a collapse in support for Karzai, both within the Afghan coalitions that have supported him since his election in 2004 and among his backers in Nato and the European Union.

During a visit to Kabul last week, David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said that Karzai's government had to raise its game to secure continued British financial and military support.

Tempers flared after Masoud, the leader of the most powerful family in northern Afghanistan, made a speech blaming greed and corruption in the Karzai administration for hunger and poverty in the country.

He also said Karzai's plan to delay the May election until August 20 and extend his term until then was unconstitutional.

The subsequent row lasted for 10 minutes and had to be broken up by Cabinet colleagues.

In launching such a public attack, Masoud joined a growing number of senior Afghan politicians questioning Karzai's intention to remain in power after his term formally ends in May.

The Afghan constitution states that elections should be held by late April. However, the Karzai-appointed independent election commission has said that preparations cannot be finalised in time and the poll must be delayed for three months to allow US troop reinforcements to arrive.

Senior Western diplomats fear that the political upheaval could destabilise the country ahead of any Taliban summer offensive.

- The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2009