KABUL – Not long ago, in the spring of this year, when President Hamid Karzai asked his Cabinet ministers a difficult question. “Should I be Vazir Akbar Khan or Shah Shojah?!” The ministerial meeting was about security and the departure of Americans in 2014. The President made reference to these two famous Afghan characters, who courageously stood up against foreigners. The ministers were discussing the American offer of a long-term strategic security agreement with Afghanistan, when the President suddenly got very excited, asking them which of these heroic, iconic characters suited him better. According to one of the ministers at the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity, each minister rushed to praise the President for his clever comparison. Some ministers said he was like Shah Shoja, others Vazir Akbar Khan; some even said he was even better than both of them. Vazir Akbar Khan (1816-1846), was an Afghan Prince, a general, a tribal leader and Emir. He was active in the First Anglo-Afghan War, which lasted from 1839 to 1842. He was prominent for his leadership of the national party in Kabul from 1841 to 1842 and his pursuit of the retreating British Army from Kabul to Gandamak near Jalalabad in 1842. Shah Shoja Dourani was ruler of the Dourani Empire from 1803 to 1809. He then ruled from 1839 until his death in 1842. Shoja allied Afghanistan with the United Kingdom in 1809, as a means of defence against a combined invasion of India by Napoleon and Russia. But one of Karzai's ministers said something different in the meeting: “You are Hamid Karzai, elected by the people as their President and your job requires you to serve them well.” This brave man, according to our anonymous source, was none other than the high respected head of national security. “You have been elected very democratically and will depart when your term finishes,” he told Karzai in the presence of the other ministers. It seems that, having waited months, this disappointed President can't make up his mind to sign the treaty with the US Government; nor does he exactly know how the national army is meant to handle security when the international security forces depart. As he grapples with his identity – 'Am I Vazir Akbar Khan or Shah Shoja?' - the President has lost senior commanders and even his own brother in less than three months. People like General Davoud and General Shah Jahan, both assassinated in Takhar, played a major role in securing northeastern Afghanistan. His brother, Ahmad Vali Karzai, killed by his own bodyguard, was responsible for the President's security in his hometown, Qandahar. Ahmad Vali Karzai, suspected of being involved in drug trafficking, was still popular and influential at his Pashto tribal area of Qandahar. His presence in Qandahar gave the President confidence in his tribal bases. His loss was a big shock to President Karzai, as was that of his senior commanders. The former northern alliance commanders, trained by the late Ahmad Shah Massoud, have, since 2002, been methodically eliminated. What is President Karzai thinking at this difficult time in Afghanistan? His trusted brother has gone, security is weak and there are new reports of trouble every day in different parts of the country, and now MPs are claiming that the President wants to shut down parliament. Sixty-two MPs were given the sack by a special court formed on orders from President Karzai. They have refused to accept the court's ruling. They say that Karzai wants to shut down parliament, so he can announce a state of emergency and stay in power for another term. The power struggle between Parliament and the President is one of the big issues in Afghanistan today. Last Tuesday, Ahmad Behzad Second Vice Parliamentary Speaker, told the media that Karzai plans to close down parliament because the 62 MPs refuse to go, so he can serve a third term.
