Many Afghans, including former Taliban supporters, have declared that Karzai is the best choice to lead the government for a number of reasons, including his reportedly wide following and the fact that he is a Pashtun, Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group. One Afghan said, "For the first time in many years, we are going to have a leader of the country who is not a criminal." Others have charged that he is a puppet of the US government, he does not represent the people of Afghanistan and he is too westernized.

Karzai is committed to convening the traditional Afghan grand council of tribal chiefs, the Loya Jirga, in June, where a body of over 500 people will decide on a leader and a government. Karzai said, “If the Loya Jirga chooses me as the leader of Afghanistan … I will be honored. If they choose someone else, I will respect the decision.”

Karzai was born in 1957 in Kandahar and studied law in India. He has lived in the US where he worked as a consultant for an American oil company. His father, chief of the Popolzai clan, one of the most powerful tribes in southern Afghanistan, was assassinated in 1999 in Quetta, Pakistan. The murder of the former parliamentary deputy has been attributed to the Taliban, but the killers have not been apprehended. Hamid Karzai is an active leader of the 500,000-strong Popolzai tribe.

Mohammad Zahir Shah, the legitimate King of Afghanistan, is a member of the same clan, which has provided the country’s kings since 1747. Karzai has maintained close ties with Zahir Shah, who has been living in exile in Rome since he was deposed in a bloodless coup in 1973 after reigning for 40 years. The King’s peace plan for Afghanistan, which emphasizes the importance of convening the Loya Jirga, is reflected in Karzai’s views.

During the 1980s, while living in Pakistan, Karzai provided financial support to the Mujahideen to fight the Soviets occupying Afghanistan. In 1992, he served as deputy foreign minister in Afghanistan’s first Mujahideen government, headed by Rabbani Burhanuddin, but he left the position, disillusioned with inside quarrelling. During his service, Karzai asked Rabbani, whose regime was run primarily by minority Tajiks, to include more ethnic Pashtuns in the government.

In 1996, the Taliban, comprised mainly of Pashtuns, overthrew the Rabbani administration. Karzai had supported the Taliban when it was emerging as an idealistic group in the early 1990s, but by 1994 he had become suspicious that it was falling into the hands of controlling foreigners, particularly the Pakistani intelligence agency (the ISI) and Arab radicals. When the Taliban government asked him to serve as ambassador to the United Nations, he declined. As its policies became continually more violent and intolerant, his opposition to the group grew stronger. “They treated all of mankind in a most disastrous manner,” he said in January 2002. Karzai accused Pakistan of misusing his country and its government to train militants to fight in Indian Kashmir. He also charged that his fellow tribesmen were pawns in Pakistan’s play for power in the region.

After September 11, 2001, Karzai received disaffected Afghan leaders at his home in Quetta, reportedly to develop plans to overthrow the fundamentalist government in Kabul. He played a key role in convincing several Pashtun tribes to cease their support for the Taliban and apparently led an armed contingent across the border to overthrow the extremists.

Karzai’s plans for Afghanistan include restoring the rights of women, streamlining the disparate armed forces into a single Afghan army and fighting the proliferation of illegal drugs and the opium trade. He anticipates maintaining good relations with Iran, Afghanistan’s western neighbor, and India following successful diplomatic visits to both countries in February 2002. He expects to get assistance in rebuilding the nation from Germany, France, Turkey, Russia and the US.

During the 1980s, while living in Pakistan, Karzai provided financial support to the Mujahideen to fight the Soviets occupying Afghanistan. In 1992, he served as deputy foreign minister in Afghanistan’s first Mujahideen government, headed by Rabbani Burhanuddin, but he left the position, disillusioned with inside quarrelling. During his service, Karzai asked Rabbani, whose regime was run primarily by minority Tajiks, to include more ethnic Pashtuns in the government.

In 1996, the Taliban, comprised mainly of Pashtuns, overthrew the Rabbani administration. Karzai had supported the Taliban when it was emerging as an idealistic group in the early 1990s, but by 1994 he had become suspicious that it was falling into the hands of controlling foreigners, particularly the Pakistani intelligence agency (the ISI) and Arab radicals. When the Taliban government asked him to serve as ambassador to the United Nations, he declined. As its policies became continually more violent and intolerant, his opposition to the group grew stronger. “They treated all of mankind in a most disastrous manner,” he said in January 2002. Karzai accused Pakistan of misusing his country and its government to train militants to fight in Indian Kashmir. He also charged that his fellow tribesmen were pawns in Pakistan’s play for power in the region.

After September 11, 2001, Karzai received disaffected Afghan leaders at his home in Quetta, reportedly to develop plans to overthrow the fundamentalist government in Kabul. He played a key role in convincing several Pashtun tribes to cease their support for the Taliban and apparently led an armed contingent across the border to overthrow the extremists.

Karzai’s plans for Afghanistan include restoring the rights of women, streamlining the disparate armed forces into a single Afghan army and fighting the proliferation of illegal drugs and the opium trade. He anticipates maintaining good relations with Iran, Afghanistan’s western neighbor, and India following successful diplomatic visits to both countries in February 2002. He expects to get assistance in rebuilding the nation from Germany, France, Turkey, Russia and the US.