Former governor of Kandahar province lands Afghan cabinet post

The end of Asadullah Khalid's tenure as governor in the province where Canadian forces are concentrated was put off in April when former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier publicly called for his ouster - a diplomatic faux pas.

Now, just two months after Khalid was quietly replaced by Rahmatullah Raufi, a former Afghan army general, President Hamid Karzai has named him minister of state for parliamentary affairs.

The charismatic former governor landed the position despite having led a provincial government that was dogged by whispers of corruption and accusations that he himself took part in the abuse of prisoners - a charge he has vehemently denied.

"Regardless of what position he holds within government, there are very serious allegations that have been made against him, including the possibility that he might have been quite directly involved in human rights violations," Amnesty International's Alex Neve said Friday.

"It is vitally important that there be an independent, credible investigation of those allegations and that he be held accountable, that he be brought to justice, if those allegations prove well founded."

During a visit to Afghanistan this past April, Bernier said publicly that the time had come for Khalid to be replaced. Sources close to the Afghan government said it forced Karzai to delay the move for fear of being seen as the puppet of a foreign power.

Hours after Bernier's gaffe, Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying Canada does not meddle in the affairs of sovereign nations, and supports and respects the decisions of the Afghan government.

A similar statement was issued Friday.

"The government of Afghanistan is responsible for the appointment of ministers and the government of Canada fully respects its internal decision-making process," said spokesman Joffre LeBlanc.

But Neve maintains sovereignty is "no excuse" and "no defence" when it comes to human rights and that Canada should make its concerns known to the Afghan government.

Michael Byers, an international relations professor at the University of British Columbia, said the Karzai government owes its existence to the military and financial support it receives from western governments.

As such, he said, Canada has the "capacity to exercise considerable influence," and should urge Canada's ambassador in Kabul to relay the message that Canada isn't pleased.

With Afghan elections expected next year, withdrawing support for Karzai might be another way to "get traction on the democratic issue" and ensure such "mistakes" don't happen again, Byers added.

Omar Samad, Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada, said Khalid's new post is essentially a junior position that involves co-ordinating the activities between the upper and lower houses of parliament.

Such appointments are made at the discretion of the president, he said, adding the allegations against Khalid are just that - allegations.

Khalid was responsible for a very difficult and troubled province and that he "did his best" under the circumstances, Samad said.

"There are allegations floating around rightly and wrongly about all kinds of people. Until and unless there are some kind of legal proceedings, they remain as allegations," he said.

It's not clear whether there are even any grounds for an investigation in this case, he added.

"If there are any concerns by the government about his tenure as governor, I'm certain that it will emerge or it will be looked into, but so far there are no signs of such a move."

Byers called the appointment "disturbing development" that will do little to "win the hearts and minds" of the Afghan people and improve the security situation.

"People are essentially seeing a choice between a corrupt administration in Kabul and the tribal leaders in the regions and the Taliban and it's becoming less clear to many Afghans which is the better choice," he said.

"The fact that we haven't been able to maintain a clearly better choice in the form of the government in Kabul is a very great failing on the part of all the countries involved."