Kabul considers action against Int'l Crisis Group over 'Bias'

Afghanistan is considering action against the International Crisis Group, with officials on Monday accusing the respected think-tank of bias in its reporting on the troubled nation. An analysis by the Brussels-based ICG last month said the Kabul government could collapse after the withdrawal of NATO troops in 2014, particularly if presidential elections that year are fraudulent. Afghan President Hamid Karzai's senior spokesman Aimal Faizi hit back Monday, telling Agence France Presse: "The ICG reports and activities have been politically motivated." "The government is now in the process of assessing the ICG's operations in the country," he added. "It is detrimental to Afghanistan's national interests and no country will allow such activities by a foreign organization," he said, without elaborating. President Karzai's re-election in 2009 was marred by allegations of widespread voting irregularities, while parliamentary polls a year later were also mired in controversy over fraud and vote rigging. The ICG analysis characterized Karzai as apparently being motivated by his desire to cling to power rather than to work for his country's interests. Foreign ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai also said Kabul was investigating the group. "The Afghan government is currently doing an assessment of the ICG's work in Afghanistan, and will take an appropriate decision about its future work based on this assessment," he said. The author of the report, the ICG's senior Afghanistan analyst, Candace Rondeaux, could not immediately be contacted for comment.