Washington upset over Karzai drug pardons

WASHINGTON, July 15 (UPI) -- The United States expressed disappointment Wednesday with a decision by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to pardon convicted drug offenders.

Karzai in early July pardoned as many as 10 convicted drug traffickers. Five of those pardons were allegedly linked to "well-respected" families. One of those is related to a lawmaker working on the re-election campaign for Karzai.

Several of those pardoned were arrested in 2007. The men were detained while wearing military uniforms and using police vehicles for drug-smuggling operations.

Karl Eikenberry, the U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, called the pardons "discouraging and unsettling."

The drug trade in Afghanistan is seen as a key challenge for reform. Apart from contributing to the overwhelming majority of the world's heroin supply, Taliban and other insurgents use drug money to finance some of their operations.

Ian Kelly, the spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said he welcomed efforts by the government of Afghanistan to prosecute and sentence known drug offenders. He adds the State Department has contributed roughly $6 billion through the U.S. Justice Department to help investigate and prosecute known traffickers.

"It is disappointing however, when successfully prosecuted traffickers are later released, as has occurred recently," said Kelly. "This undermines the work of the Afghan Ministries of the Interior and Counter Narcotics."