Paddy Ashdown, the international community's former envoy to Bosnia, should not be the UN's new representative in Afghanistan, the country's ambassador to the world body has told the BBC.
In an interview published on the broadcaster's Web site late on Saturday, Zahir Tanin confirmed a newspaper report that Afghan President Hamid Karzai wanted to block Ashdown's appointment.
The Times quoted unnamed diplomats as saying on Saturday that Karzai thought Ashdown wanted too much power and had raised his objection with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week.
PHOTO: AFP
Tanin told the BBC that the Kabul government's preferred choice instead would be NATO's deputy commander in Europe, General John McColl.
McColl was the first head of the international security force in Afghanistan in 2002 after the ouster of the hardline Taliban.
Tanin said government officials had been surprised to see Ashdown portrayed in the media as the final choice for the post when no formal announcement had been made.
"A negative atmosphere was generated through the media inside and outside Afghanistan, particularly in Britain, which hit a lot of nerves and paved the way for misunderstanding and concerns," he was quoted as saying.
Their preference for McColl was based on "who is going to be more helpful and who is going to be more able to work with the Afghan government and with different elements of the international community in Afghanistan", he said.
Ashdown, a former leader of Britain's second opposition party the Liberal Democrats, has declined to comment on reports of his appointment.
The ex-marine gained a reputation as a no-nonsense operator during his time in Bosnia from 2002 to 2005, pushing through sensitive reforms and sacking 60 officials suspected of belonging to a support network for war crimes suspects.
Karzai's opposition comes at a time of tension between Kabul and London.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week, he was reported as having blamed British and US troops for contributing to worsening security in southern Afghanistan that had allowed the Taliban to return.
That prompted outrage from relatives of some of the 87 British service personnel who have died since the start of combat operations in Afghanistan in late 2001.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
Africa has established the continent’s first space agency to boost Earth observation and data sharing at a time when a more hostile global context is limiting the availability of climate and weather information. The African Space Agency opened its doors last month under the umbrella of the African Union and is headquartered in Cairo. The new organization, which is still being set up and hiring people in key positions, is to coordinate existing national space programs. It aims to improve the continent’s space infrastructure by launching satellites, setting up weather stations and making sure data can be shared across
RSS