Karzai alleges US role in attacks: Report

He suspects US may have backed insurgent-style attacks to undermine his government but has no evidence.

WASHINGTON: Afghan President Hamid Karzai suspects the United States may have backed insurgent-style attacks to undermine his government but has no evidence to support his theory, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

Karzai has compiled a list of dozens of attacks that he believes the US government may have been involved in, the Post wrote, citing unnamed Afghan officials.

He harbours suspicions that the Americans may have been behind an attack this month on a Lebanese restaurant frequented by foreigners in Kabul, the newspaper said, quoting a presidential palace official.

However, the official acknowledged that the government had no concrete proof of a US role in any of the attacks.

In Kabul, Afghan officials were unavailable to comment on the report. US officials privately scoffed at the allegations.

Karzai’s suspicions of a conspiracy may explain why he has refused to sign a security accord with the US, the Post wrote. It also was possible Karzai wanted to demonstrate he was no puppet of Washington. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2014.