Hamid Karzai has said he will purge his new administration of corrupt officials, a day after criticising the United Nations for demanding that he clean up his regime.

Mr Karzai's international backers believe corruption is the biggest obstacle to defeating the Taliban insurgency and have queued up to take a firm line since he was re-elected last week.

The re-elected president said: "Individuals who are involved in corruption will have no place in the government."

Barack Obama, Gordon Brown and the UN have all made blunt demands that Mr Karzai tackle corruption as they face domestic unease over a growing death toll to prop up a leader accused of stealing the presidential elections.

In signs the calls were causing tension in Kabul, the Afghan government issued a statement at the weekend saying the UN had "accepted international norms" and "violated respect for Afghanistan's national sovereignty".

Kai Eide, senior UN diplomat in the country, had called for a "vigorous fight against corruption, efforts to improve the justice system and remove the culture of impunity".

Mr Karzai insisted that donors were partly to blame for the corruption.

He said: "There is no accountability of their contracts and there is a serious corruption in the implementation of those projects.

"And the responsibility for this corruption is the international community." The exchanges reflect a power struggle between Mr Karzai and the coalition as he draws up his cabinet following his win over Abdullah Abdullah.

Washington and London fear he will use ministerial posts and governorships to repay strongmen and warlords for helping him win the August 20 vote.

They have called for him to appoint clean, competent ministers, but many question what leverage they may exert despite threatening to pull out or cut off aid if he defies them.

One Western diplomat told The Daily Telegraph: "The stated top priority for the US was free and fair elections. Karzai subverted the top foreign policy priority of the US and paid no price. So what does he conclude? – I can do anything I like and just spin them a tale."

By Ben Farmer in Kabul
The Telegraph
November 8, 2009

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