Afghan gov't says UN representative out of line

(AP Photo/Ahmad Masood, Pool)

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, left, shakes hands with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the presidential palalce in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. The U.N. chief made a surprise visit to Afghanistan as Afghanistan's election commission has canceled Saturday's presidential runoff and proclaimed Karzai victor of the war-ravaged nation's tumultuous ballot.

KABUL— Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry said Saturday that the top U.N. official in the country went beyond his authority by giving instructions on how to rid the government of corruption and warlords.

Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide "delivered comments which exceeded international norms and his authority as a representative of an impartial organization," the ministry said in a statement.

It was strongest indication yet that the administration of President Hamid Karzai will resist prescriptions from the international community on how to rein in corruption or regional power brokers who often wield more power than the government.

A host of international figures, including President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, have called for the Afghan government to take concrete steps to clean up the government following a presidential election that was marred by fraud.

The vote took two and a half months to resolve because of ballot-box stuffing and the unwillingness of Karzai and election officials he appointed to accept results that would have forced him into a runoff vote. The second round was canceled after his challenger dropped out.

Eide warned Thursday that the Afghan government should not assume that it will have the support of international donors and troops if it continues to be mired in corruption and welcome warlords into the administration.

"We can't afford any longer a situation where warlords and power brokers play their own games," Eide said. "We have to have a political landscape here that draws the country in the same direction, which is in the direction of significant reform."

He said the partnership between Afghanistan and its foreign allies was at a "critical juncture," suggesting that the international community could desert Afghanistan unless serious action is taken.

The Foreign Ministry condemned such comments as interfering in national sovereignty.

"Over the last few days some political and diplomatic circles and propaganda agencies of certain foreign countries have intervened in Afghanistan's internal affairs by issuing instructions concerning the composition of Afghan government organs and political policy of Afghanistan," the statement said. "Such instructions have violated respect for Afghanistan's national sovereignty."