WASHINGTON (PAN): A prominent American lawmaker, who was denied entry into Afghanistan yearly this year, Wednesday announced to hold a Congressional hearing into the deal between a Chinese firm and the Afghan government.
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations chairman, in a statement expressed grave concern on recent deal made by Karzai family and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC),
The concession is to develop oil and natural gas in Amu Darya Basin of Afghanistan.
“The strategic consequences of this partnership between the Karzai family and China are immense and go beyond Beijing’s desire to control new energy sources,” Rohrabacher said in a statement.
“The establishment of a large Communist Chinese government presence in the northern tier of Afghanistan will undoubtedly include armed security forces which Beijing always sends to its foreign oil fields. This enterprise should be seen as part of the long-term goal of the Sino-Pakistan alliance to dominate Afghanistan,” he said.
Rohrabacher said CNPC chose as its “partner” the Watan Group, a Karzai family firm run by two of Karzai’s cousins (Rashid and Rateb Popal) and includes his brother Qayum Karzai, as a major shareholder.
“This is not just another example of President Karzai exercising dictatorial power to enrich his family,” he warned.
“It is an example of his growing alignment with Pakistan and China. The objective is to wipe out those northern communities most opposed to the Taliban and to Karzai. If successful, it means the US has sacrificed blood and treasure for a decade only to benefit our enemies. Our brave soldiers are being stabbed in the back by corruption and subversion in Kabul working in cahoots with Beijing,” he said.
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