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Afghanistan's New Leader
Wednesday, December 5, 2001
By Kathy Gannon
The Guardian

Hamid Karzai: A warrior turned peacemaker.
Photo Credit: The Associated Press.

Mr Karzai's father was chief of the Popolzai tribe. He was assassinated in the Pakistani city of Quetta in 1999, a killing believed linked to Afghanistan's violent feuds. The killers were never caught.

The new head of Afghanistan's interim administration is a 44-year-old tribesman who is as comfortable in a suit and tie as a turban and tunic.

Hamid Karzai is from the Taliban heartland of Kandahar, which is where he is today, leading troops in his homeland against the Islamic militia. He speaks fluent English, and studied abroad.

His recent role in the crisis of Afghanistan

Mr Karzai initially supported the creation of the Taliban in 1994 as an alternative to the lawlessness of the warlords who ruled Kandahar.

In 1995 the Taliban approached him to be their permanent representative at the United Nations. But by then he was disillusioned by the religious movement because he said it had been hijacked by neighbouring Pakistan.
(More: The Guardian News Source)
2001 Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited.

Dan