"were buying U.S.-supplied weapons from Afghan forces. The Pentagon ""lost track of many of the 465,000 light weapons the U.S. supplied to Afghan security forces."" Haroun Mir of Afghanistan's Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) and Business Integrity Network Afghanistan (BINA) noted in June 2015 that Hamid Karzai, Acting President of Afghanistan from 2001 to 2004 and President from 2004 to 2014, had been widely accused of perpetuating and initiating the corrupt economic system of the country through a patronage system that resembled a mafia. As a result, corruption is now considered an ingrained and accepted facet of Afghan"
"of a surge of insurgent activity. Karzai was sworn in as President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on 7 December 2004, at a formal ceremony in Kabul. Many interpreted the ceremony as a symbolically important ""new start"" for the war-torn nation. Notable guests at the inauguration included the country's former King, Zahir Shah, three former US presidents, and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. After winning a democratic mandate in the 2004 election and removing many of the former Northern Alliance warlords from his cabinet, it was thought that Karzai would pursue a more aggressively reformist path in 2005. However,"
"Ashraf Ghani Mohammad Ashraf Ghanī Ahmadzai (Pashto/, born 19 May 1949) is a Afghan politician who is the current President of Afghanistan, elected on 21 September 2014. An anthropologist by education, he previously served as finance minister and the chancellor of Kabul University. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002, Ghani was a professor of anthropology at numerous institutions (mostly Johns Hopkins University), and later started working with the World Bank. As the Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery after the collapse of the Taliban government. He is the co-founder of"
"Ashraf Ghani Mohammad Ashraf Ghanī Ahmadzai (Pashto/, born 19 May 1949) is a Afghan politician who is the current President of Afghanistan, elected on 21 September 2014. An anthropologist by education, he previously served as finance minister and the chancellor of Kabul University. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002, Ghani was a professor of anthropology at numerous institutions (mostly Johns Hopkins University), and later started working with the World Bank. As the Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery after the collapse of the Taliban government. He is the co-founder of"
"place safely in spite of a surge of insurgent activity. Karzai was sworn in as President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on 7 December 2004, at a formal ceremony in Kabul. Many interpreted the ceremony as a symbolically important ""new start"" for the war-torn nation. Notable guests at the inauguration included the country's former King, Zahir Shah, three former U.S. presidents, and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. After winning a democratic mandate in the 2004 election, it was thought that Karzai would pursue a more aggressively reformist path in 2005. However, Karzai has proved to be more cautious than"
"Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (Pashto/, born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who was the leader of Afghanistan from 22 December 2001 to 29 September 2014, originally as an interim leader and then as President for almost ten years, from 7 December 2004 to 2014. He comes from a politically active family; Karzai's father, uncle and grandfather were all active in Afghan politics and government. Karzai and his father before him, Abdul Ahad Karzai, were each head of the Popalzai tribe of the Durrani tribal confederation. In the 1980s Karzai was active as a fundraiser for the mujahideen who"
"2004 Afghan presidential election An election to the office of President of Afghanistan was held on October 9, 2004. Hamid Karzai won the election with 55.4% of the votes and three times more votes than any other candidate. Twelve candidates received less than 1% of the vote. It is estimated that more than three-quarters of Afghanistan's nearly 12 million registered voters cast ballots. The election was overseen by the Joint Electoral Management Body, chaired by Zakim Shah and vice-chaired by Ray Kennedy, an American working for the United Nations. After some accusations of fraud circulated on the day of the"
"of power that may occur when the U.S. Forces withdraw in 2014. Karzai himself was in London at the time of the discovery, to participate in talks with Pakistan and the U.S. on the possible location of Taliban leader Mullah Baradar. At the time, it was unknown if Karzai was directly involved or even knew of such communications. Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (Pashto/, born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who was the leader of Afghanistan from 22 December 2001 to 29 September 2014, originally as an interim leader and then as President for almost ten years, from 7"
"control of state machinery and key ministries. One of the fired governors was Mohammad Gulab Mangal, who was in charge of the Taliban-filled Helmand Province and had both American and British support. Afghan's international supporters have previously requested improvements in the local administrations. Karzai's second term as President ended on 29 September 2014. He was succeeded by Ashraf Ghani. Presidency of Hamid Karzai The Karzai administration was the government of Afghanistan under President Hamid Karzai, who became the head of state of Afghanistan in December 2001 after the Taliban government was overthrown. Karzai was appointed at the 2002 Loya Jirga"
"7, 2001, quickly leading to the overthrow of the Taliban government and implementation of Hamid Karzai as Afghanistan's interim president. In early 2002, after the Battle of Tora Bora and success with Operation Anaconda, the United States began focusing on military intervention in Iraq, shifting military and intelligence resources away from Afghanistan in War on Terror, with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stating in May 2003 that the ""major combat"" in the conflict was over. With the approval of the new Afghan Constitution by the Loya jirga and election of President Karzai in 2004, Afghanistan later held its first"
"on 9 October 2004. Hamid Karzai was declared the winner, and on 9 December 2004 he was inaugurated President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Phase one of Operation Athena ended in July 2005. In 2005, ISAF began to extend its operations beyond Kabul to support the development and growth of Afghanistan's governmental institutions, especially its national security forces. In August 2005, the second phase of Operation Athena began with the Canadian Forces assuming command of Kandahar Province from a United States Army task force deployed under Operation Enduring Freedom. Operation Athena started on July 17, 2003 in the Kabul"
"Ahmad Zia Massoud Ahmad Zia Massoud (, born May 1, 1956) was the Vice President of Afghanistan in the first elected administration of President Hamid Karzai, from December 2004 to November 2009. He is a younger brother of the late Ahmad Shah Massoud, the resistance leader against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and against the Taliban. In late 2011, Ahmad Zia Massoud joined hands with major leaders in the National Front of Afghanistan, which strongly opposes a return of the Taliban to power. The National Front is generally regarded as a reformation of the United Front (Northern Alliance) which with"
"figures, from the Karzai government, the Taliban, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami and other former members of the Taliban. Zaeef denied this meeting should be characterized as ""peace talks"". He stated that none of the individuals at this meeting had been authorized to conduct negotiations. Zaeef denied anyone discussed Afghanistan at this meeting. Fazal Hadi Shinwari Fazal Hadi Shinwari (1927 – February 21, 2011) was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan from 2001 until 2006. He was appointed to the post by Afghan President Hamid Karzai in accordance with the Afghan Constitution approved after the 2001 overthrow of the"
"Mohammed Fahim Mohammad Qasim Fahim (Pashto/), also known as ""Marshal Fahim""; 1957 – 9 March 2014) was a politician in Afghanistan who served as Vice President from June 2002 until December 2004 and from November 2009 until his death. Between September 2001 and December 2004, he also served as Defense Minister under the Afghan Transitional Administration. As military commander of the Northern Alliance, Fahim captured the Afghan capital Kabul in the fall of 2001 from the Taliban government. In 2004, President Hamid Karzai provided Fahim the honorary title Marshal and a year later, he became member of the House of"
"blamed rogue elements within the Pakistani government for the increased attacks. In September 2014 Ashraf Ghani became President after the 2014 presidential election where for the first time in Afghanistan's history power was democratically transferred. On 28 December 2014, NATO formally ended ISAF combat operations in Afghanistan and officially transferred full security responsibility to the Afghan government and the NATO-led Operation Resolute Support was formed the same day as a successor to ISAF. However, thousands of NATO troops have remained in the country to train and advise Afghan government forces and continue their fight against the Taliban, which remains by"
"prominent Afghan political figures to serve a six-month term as Chairman of the Interim Administration. He was then chosen for a two-year term as Interim President during the 2002 loya jirga (grand assembly) that was held in Kabul, Afghanistan. After the 2004 presidential election, Karzai was declared winner and became President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He won a second five-year term in the 2009 presidential election; this term ended in September 2014. Karzai was born on 24 December 1957 in the Karz area of Kandahar City in southern Afghanistan. He is an ethnic Pashtun of the Popalzai tribe."
"assassination. Rabbani's son Salahuddin then took over chairmanship of the High Peace Council from his father. Burhanuddin Rabbani Burhānuddīn Rabbānī (Persian/Pashto: ; b. 20 September 1940, d. 20 September 2011) was an Afghan politician who served as President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996 (""de jure"" until 2001). After the Taliban government was toppled during Operation Enduring Freedom, Rabbani returned to Kabul and served as President from November to December 20, 2001, when Hamid Karzai was chosen at the Bonn International Conference on Afghanistan. Rabbani was also the leader of Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Society of"
"but the country had only one leader, Mullah Omar, the head of Taliban who fled to Pakistan after the US-led invasion on October 7, 2001. The Taliban laws were quickly abolished and humanities came in effect to enable Kabul to recover from the destruction caused by the mujahideen and Taliban forces. The 2002 loya jirga took place to solve the country's political problems. Afghanistan adopted a new constitution in January 2004, establishing the country as an Islamic Republic. According to the constitution, the Afghan government consists of a President, two Vice Presidents, and a National Assembly (Parliament). The National Assembly"
"of The Special Representative of the President of Afghanistan in Reform and Good Governance. Ahmad Zia Massoud is married to a daughter of Burhanuddin Rabbani. They have four children: three girls and a boy. His son's name is Ahmad Zubair Massoud and he was graduated from the National Defense Academy in Pune India. Zubair Masoud is an advisor in the Afghan National Security Council. http://thediplomat.com/2015/08/interview-zubair-massoud/ Ahmad Zia Massoud Ahmad Zia Massoud (, born May 1, 1956) was the Vice President of Afghanistan in the first elected administration of President Hamid Karzai, from December 2004 to November 2009. He is a"
"has two houses: the House of People (Wolesi Jirga), and the House of Elders (Meshrano Jirga). There is also an independent Judiciary branch consisting of the Supreme Court (Stara Mahkama), High Courts and Appeal Courts. The President appoints the members of the Supreme Court with the approval of the Wolesi Jirga. Afghanistan's presidential elections were held in October 2004. Over 8 million Afghans voted in the elections. The Joint Electoral Management Body of Afghanistan certified the elections and declared Hamid Karzai, the interim President, the winner with 55.4% of the vote. Karzai's strongest opponent, Yunus Qanuni, received 16.3% of the"
"on 5 April 2014. After no candidate obtained the 50 per cent plus one of the vote required to win the Presidential poll outright, the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC) held a second round run-off on 14 June 2014 between the two candidates with the most votes from the first round, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai. On 29 September 2014, following a vote-audit process, the new President of Afghanistan was inaugurated, marking the first democratic transition of power in the country’s history, as well as the establishment of a Government of National Unity, with Abdullah Abdullah"
"deal was signed in front of the presidential palace, with incumbent president Hamid Karzai in attendance. Part of the deal stipulated that the Independent Election Commission would not release the exact vote totals of the second round of voting. Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah (Dari/Pashto: , born 5 September 1960, his father is Pashtun, Clan Noorzai, mother - Tajik) is an Afghan politician, serving as Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan since September 2014. From October 2001 to April 2005, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Prior to that he was a senior member of the Northern Alliance"
"President of Afghanistan The President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is the head of state and head of government of Afghanistan. The incumbent office holder is Ashraf Ghani. Before the office of the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was created in 2004, Afghanistan has been an Islamic republic between 1973 and 1992 and from 2001 onward. Before 1973, it was a monarchy. Between 1992 and 2001, during the civil war, the country was recognized as the Islamic State of Afghanistan, and later the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Article 62 of the Constitution of Afghanistan of 2004 states"
"between incumbent President Hamid Karzai and his main rival Abdullah Abdullah was announced for November 7, 2009. On November 1, however, Abdullah announced that he would no longer be participating in the run-off because his demands for changes in the electoral commission had not been met, and a ""transparent election is not possible."" A day later, on November 2, 2009, officials of the election commission cancelled the run-off and declared Hamid Karzai as President of Afghanistan for another 5-year term. The 2014 presidential election was held in April 2014, followed by a run-off in June 2014. The results of both"
"was endorsed by the PPP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for the presidency. The PML-N nominated former justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui, while the PML-Q put forth Mushahid Hussain Sayed. Zardari won a majority in the Electoral College with 481 of 702 votes. He was elected President on 6 September 2008. At the inauguration on 9 September 2008, Afghan President Hamid Karzai was a guest of honour, which was a signal for much closer cooperation between the two nations in addressing the tribal insurgency along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. After the election, Zardari promised to approve the constitutional provision that removed the"
"and national elections. As part of that agreement, the United Kingdom (UK) was designated the lead country in addressing counter-narcotics issues in Afghanistan. Afghanistan subsequently implemented its new constitution and held national elections. On December 7, 2004, Hamid Karzai was formally sworn in as president of a democratic Afghanistan."" Approximately 40,000 foreign troops help manage security in Afghanistan, principally of 32,000 regular soldiers from 37 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces: the International Security Assistance Force. 8,000 US and other special operations forces make up the balance. To manage this turmoil, over 40,000 foreign troops still occupy Afghanistan. There is"
"now president Ashraf Ghani. Nuristani has been a controversial figure in the election process of Afghanistan and despite Afghan public opinion being against him he still insisted on staying as the chairman of the election commission. March 26, 2016 in a surprise move Nuristani resigned from his post as the chairman of election commission. Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani Dr. Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani is a well-known and highly respected politician in Afghanistan. Nuristani played an important role in the resistance against the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. He was the spokesperson for President Hamid Karzai, and Chief of Presidential Media, Office of the"
"2013. The other five ministers were all approved on December 29, 2013. In March 2014, at the age of 57, vice president Mohammad Fahim died of a heart attack, just a few months before his term would end. President Karzai nominated Yunus Qanuni to replace Fahim as first vice president. Qanuni was Minister of the Interior following the fall of the Taliban government in 2001 and subsequently Minister of Education in the Afghan Transitional Administration from 2002 until 2004. In 2004 Qanuni had run as presidential candidate against Karzai in the presidential election. In 2005 he had been elected to"
"to Afghan forces. That same year, the Obama administration designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally. In 2014, Obama announced that most troops would leave Afghanistan by late 2016, with a small force remaining at the US embassy. In September 2014, Ashraf Ghani succeeded Hamid Karzai as the President of Afghanistan after the U.S. helped negotiate a power-sharing agreement between Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah. On January 1, 2015, the U.S. military ended Operation Enduring Freedom and began Resolute Support Mission, in which the U.S. shifted to more of a training role, although some combat operations continued. In October 2015, Obama"
"sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States. After a disputed election, Ashraf Ghani became President of Afghanistan and Abdullah Abdullah became Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan in September 2014. One day later, the new Afghan government signed the Bilateral Security Agreement. The 2005 parliamentary election for the Wolesi Jirga (House of the People) were conducted on September 18, 2005. This was the first parliamentary election in Afghanistan since 1969. Approximately 2,707 candidates, including 328 women, competed for 249 seats. The election was conducted with multiple seat electoral constituencies. Each province is a constituency and has a varying"
"Karzai and Gul Agha Sherzai. The Taliban regime was ousted in late 2001 during the US-led War in Afghanistan and replaced with the Karzai administration. This was followed by the Ghani administration. Many high-ranking government officials in Afghanistan are Pashtuns, including: Zalmay Rasoul, Abdul Rahim Wardak, Omar Zakhilwal, Ghulam Farooq Wardak, Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, Yousef Pashtun and Amirzai Sangin. The list of current governors of Afghanistan, as well as the parliamentarians in the House of the People and House of Elders, include large percentage of Pashtuns. The Chief of staff of the Afghan National Army, Sher Mohammad Karimi, and Commander"
"moderate active in upholding the rule of law and improving the country's dilapidated legal system. Abdul Salam Azimi Abdul Salam Azimi (Pashto: عبدالسلام عظیمی, born: 1936) in Farah Province) was the Chief Justice of Afghanistan and, as such, the head of the Afghan Supreme Court from May 2006 to October 2014, when he resigned his position. A former professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the United States, Azimi served as legal advisor to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and assisted with writing the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan. He is an ethnic Pashtun of the Alizai tribe. Prior to"
"included 50 additional delegates to satisfy the demands of various warlords. The most important thing the Loya Jirga had to do was to choose a president for the Afghan Transitional Administration who would lead the country until the official presidential elections in 2004. At the beginning, there were two candidates who had declared to run: former president of Afghanistan Burhanuddin Rabbani and the US-backed chairman of the Afghan Interim Administration, Hamid Karzai. Karzai was also supported by Abdullah Abdullah and Mohammad Fahim, two important leaders of the Northern Alliance. A third possible candidate was Zahir Shah, former king of Afghanistan"