Afghan district governor and two bodyguards defect to the Taliban-BBC

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9/19/13, "Afghan politician defects to Taliban," BBC

"A former Afghan senator and district governor has defected to the Taliban in the northern province of Sar-e-Pol, officials have told the BBC.

Qazi Abdul Hai served as a senator between 2004 and 2008 and was later made a district governor in Sar-e-Pol.

Correspondents say he is thought to be the highest-ranking civilian official to have joined the Taliban....

Mr Hai is believed to have defected to the Taliban along with two of his bodyguards on Tuesday. Officials say it is unclear why he decided to join the Taliban and played down the impact of his decision.

"His defection does not have any impact on his people in the district, because he was not a very influential person," Abdul Ghafore Dastyaar told the BBC's Jafar Haand in Kabul. He added that Mr Hai had left Afghanistan and was believed to be over the border in Pakistan.

The Taliban welcomed the move, describing it as an achievement that bolstered their cause.

Mr Hai also appears in a video posted on the Taliban website in which he describes himself as a former mujahideen fighter and says that in his four years in Kabul he saw "the corrupt face of the government"."

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Comment: Why not? He's probably got millions of US taxpayer dollars stashed and will have the best of everything for the rest of his life.




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