Afghanistan

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 20 February 2007.

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Photo of John Pugh John Pugh Shadow Minister (Health) 2:30, 20 February 2007

Whether she has received reports of connections between relatives of President Karzai and drug trafficking from Afghanistan.

Photo of Kim Howells Kim Howells Minister of State (Middle East), Foreign & Commonwealth Office

We know that there are a number of individuals in both the Government and Parliament with links to the drugs trade. We are aware of media reports that those individuals may include relatives of President Karzai. The President himself has stated publicly that he is committed to acting against all those involved in the trade. The UK is helping the Afghan Government to improve their capacity to bring those involved to justice.

Photo of John Pugh John Pugh Shadow Minister (Health)

I thank the Minister for that answer, but given the fact that US military documents describe Wali Karzai, the President's brother, as

"in the pay of drug lords", and given the endemic corruption in the Afghan Government, what new initiatives do this Government believe will improve governance in the country and international and local confidence?

Photo of Kim Howells Kim Howells Minister of State (Middle East), Foreign & Commonwealth Office

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the issue of corruption, because wherever I have gone in Afghanistan the first thing that people say to me is that if the provincial governors, as a species, were honest, central Government's remit would be much easier to extend across the whole of Afghanistan—so corruption is enormously important. We have not, however, seen or come across any evidence that any relative of President Karzai is involved in the drugs trade and, as far as I am aware, none has been laid publicly before the people of Afghanistan.

Photo of Paul Flynn Paul Flynn Labour, Newport West

When it was suggested in November that the Karzai Government were endemically corrupt, as Governments in Afghanistan have been for a couple of centuries now, with provincial governors and chiefs of police appointed by Karzai, including former warlords, former Taliban, one paedophile and people involved in the drugs trade, the defence given by the Defence Secretary was that there was one governor who was above suspicion and a man of great integrity. His name was Mohammed Daoud; he was sacked in December; he was the only one who could be identified as non-corrupt. Should we not be pressing for improvements in the Karzai Government before we ask more troops to die for them?

Photo of Kim Howells Kim Howells Minister of State (Middle East), Foreign & Commonwealth Office

My hon. Friend is right to say that Engineer Daoud, who was the governor in Helmand province, was a good man. He replaced somebody, Sher Mohammed, who was totally corrupt. He was the local warlord and ran the drugs trade in Helmand. The new governor appointed after Engineer Daoud, who, after all, served a year in the tough environment of Helmand province, seems to us to be a very honest and hard-working individual—

Photo of Paul Flynn Paul Flynn Labour, Newport West

Is that why he was sacked?

Photo of Kim Howells Kim Howells Minister of State (Middle East), Foreign & Commonwealth Office

No, it was not the new governor but the old governor who was sacked. We have to take account of the fact, which my hon. Friend so eloquently conveyed, that this is not Surrey; it is Afghanistan, and it is a pretty rough neighbourhood. To say that we can do nothing there until we have proved that every single provincial governor is as pure as the driven snow is to be on the road to nowhere.

Photo of Douglas Hogg Douglas Hogg Conservative, Sleaford and North Hykeham

Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that drug trafficking is relevant to the intensity of the fighting in Helmand province? Will he confirm too that many of our NATO allies are unwilling to provide reinforcements for British forces in Helmand? Does he accept that it was reckless of the Government to deploy British forces in Helmand in operational conditions without ensuring that proper reinforcements were available from the NATO countries?

Photo of Kim Howells Kim Howells Minister of State (Middle East), Foreign & Commonwealth Office

No, I certainly do not agree with the right hon. and learned Gentleman. Great care was taken in planning the operation in Helmand and the ISAF move to the province. We consulted closely the chiefs of staff and others who feel that they have the troops and the equipment to fight that campaign properly. The right hon. and learned Gentleman is right to imply that this is a real test of the resolve and credibility of NATO, and I am not sure that every NATO member understands the significance of that. If they did, I am sure that they would be far more ready to put more troops and more assets down into the south, where the real battle is going on at the moment.