Pubdate: Wed, 28 Sep 2005
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2005 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.mercurynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Paul Watson, LA Times
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

AFGHAN OFFICIAL RESIGNS AFTER MONTHS OF COMPLAINTS

KABUL, Afghanistan - Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali, one of the 
most respected members of President Hamid Karzai's Cabinet, resigned 
Tuesday after complaining for months that some senior officials were 
involved in drugs and corruption.

Jalali announced his resignation in an interview with a private 
Afghan television station, but was evasive about his reasons for stepping down.

"I will not work as interior minister any more," Jalali told Tolo TV. 
"Maybe there are reasons for this and maybe not, but one of the main 
reasons is that I wish to resume my academic research. I was involved 
in academia in the past, and I feel really comfortable in that field."

Jalali's press secretary said the former minister would explain his 
resignation at a news conference today. Khaleeq Ahmad, a presidential 
representative, insisted there is no friction between Jalali and Karzai.

"This is something he's been wanting to do for a long time," Ahmad 
said. "He has announced it on TV, and he's now sure that he wants to 
leave and pursue an academic career in Washington."

Jalali headed the effort to build a national police force, which is 
essential to expanding security to the large areas of the country 
that are still unstable.

He also vowed to go after corrupt officials and drug barons. But 
officers in the counternarcotics police echoed Jalali's complaints 
that senior officials in Kabul, the capital, and in the provinces 
profit from the heroin trade.

Two U.S. soldiers were killed in attacks in eastern Afghanistan, the 
U.S. military said Tuesday. An Army soldier died under enemy fire 
during an assault west of Kandahar on Monday, while a Marine was 
killed the same day when insurgents fired mortar shells, 
rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles at a base near Asadabad, 
the capital of Kunar province.

At least 53 Americans have died in combat in Afghanistan this year, 
the deadliest for U.S. troops since the Taliban government was 
toppled in late 2001. About 1,200 Afghans, many of them members of 
the security forces and suspected guerrillas, have died in the 
insurgency this year.

In February, Jalali said the Afghan government had a list of senior 
government officials who were involved in the multibillion-dollar 
heroin and opium trade. But he said the country's police force lacked 
the resources to gather evidence and prosecute them.

Jalali tried to resign the same month, but Karzai told him to stay in 
his post until after the Sept. 18 elections for parliament, according 
to an Interior Ministry source who said he spoke Tuesday to senior 
officials close to Jalali.

In conversations with his staff Tuesday, Jalali cited several reasons 
for resigning, said the source, who spoke on condition that he not be 
named because he is not authorized to speak to reporters.

The reasons included conflicts with officials in the presidential 
palace and Jalali's belief that the new parliament, which must 
approve the Cabinet, would not accept him because he has dual 
citizenship, the source said. Jalali is a U.S. citizen.

Ahmad said Jalali's deputy in charge of the counternarcotics police, 
Gen. Mohammed Daoud, will carry on the departing minister's fight 
against drug traffickers.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman