Leaders tell Karzai give us action, not words

Last update: Tue Nov 3 2009 11:23:22

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Leaders tell Karzai give us action, not words

Tue Nov 3 2009 11:23:22

Leaders tell Karzai give us action, not words Hamid Karzai has been congratulated by leaders in the UK and US but told his efforts as the newly-reappointed Afghan president would be judged through action and not words.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed Mr Karzai's election victory, adding that the leader now needed to set out a "unity programme" for Afghanistan and crack down on corruption.

In Washington the message was similar if not more direct. President Barack Obama told Mr Karzai that he expected him to move "boldly and forcefully" to implement reform.

"Proof is not going to be in words but in deeds," he added in an indication that Washington will be keeping a close eye on progress before announcing a potential US troop surge.

The White House has previously indicated that they would not make the decision to up numbers in Afghanistan, possibly by as many as 40,000 fighters, until it was convinced it had a strong partner to work with.

Downing Street said Mr Karzai's confirmation as victor of the disputed presidential election brings the deployment of an additional 500 UK troops to the country a step closer.

Mr Karzai's victory was declared after Afghanistan's Independent Electoral Commission decided to call off this weekend's second-round presidential ballot, which had effectively become meaningless following the withdrawal from the race of former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, who claimed the run-off poll would not be fair.