Afghan President Karzai admits receiving cash payments from Iran

2010-10-25 20:55:34 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday admitted that his office has received cash from the government of Iran.

The New York Times on Saturday had reported that the Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan Fada Hossein Maleki had handed Karzai's chief of staff Umar Daudzai a large cash-filled bag.

During a Monday morning press conference in which Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmanov was also present, Karzai acknowledged the actions, adding that Afghanistan will continue to receive payments as part of the relationship between the two countries. He also said the United States was aware of the assistance and that it also does the "same thing."

"The government of Iran assists [my] office with five or six or seven hundred thousand euros once or twice a year which is official aid," Karzai said. "They have asked for good relations in return, and for lots of other things in return."

"And we have also asked for lots of things in return in this relationship. This is a relationship between neighbors and it will go on and we will continue to ask for cash help from Iran," he added.

He continued: "This is transparent, this is something that I have discussed even with President George [W.] Bush, nothing is hidden, the United States is doing the same thing [...] it does give bags of money, yes, it's all the same."

According to the initial report in the New York Times, Daudzai had reportedly received between $1 million to $2 million dollars a month from Iran, which would later be distributed to lawmakers, tribal elders, and even Taliban leaders.

Karzai explained the funds are being used to help the presidential office and to help dispense assistance in various ways to the employees in Afghanistan, not to fund the Taliban or other insurgent groups.

"These cash payments are done by various friendly countries to help the presidential office and to help dispense assistance in various ways to the employees around here [in Kabul and] to people outside," Karzai said.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-10-25

Cash is king.