Ambassador Ludin offended by NDP claims

NDP claims "deeply offensive", says former Afghan Chief of Staff

Hamid Karzai's former chief of staff demands a retraction from the NDP following the party's claim that the Canadian military penned a speech given by the Afghan president.

Kate Lunau/ Macleans Magazine

Denouncing recent allegations by the NDP as "baseless" and "deeply offensive," the Afghan president's former chief of staff is to send a letter to party leadership calling for a retraction, according to Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada Omar Samad.

The letter, which Samad told Macleans.ca will be sent "within the next day or two," follows accusations from the NDP that the Canadian military penned a speech given by Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Canadian Parliament on Sept. 22, 2006. In the speech, Karzai praised the Canadian military effort in Afghanistan, and denounced NDP leader Jack Layton for his opposition to the mission.

Jawed Ludin, who was Karzai's chief of staff at the time the speech was given and is now the ambassador to Norway, wrote the letter to the NDP. The letter will not be publicly available, Samad said. He noted that Ludin "was responsible for putting [the speech] together with the help of Afghan diplomats and senior advisors." While preparing the speech, Ludin requested statistics on the Canadian military presence and development aid to Afghanistan, Samad said.

In an interview with Macleans.ca, Samad reiterated his outrage at the NDP's allegations. "My initial reaction was to laugh about this, and then to feel somewhat insulted," Samad said. "I hope the NDP realizes they have jumped to a conclusion that is not accurate, and there may also have been some inaccuracy in the report they saw.

"Karzai reviewed the speech in question several times before delivering it before Parliament, and at times spoke spontaneously without referring to his notes, Samad said.

"There is a lot of bilateral discussion that goes on prior to an important visit, or a speech or communiqué," Samad emphasized. "To say that some raw data or statistics being given constitutes writing a speech is far-fetched."

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