Afghan President Hamid Karzai in tears on TV

“I don’t want my son Mirwais to become alienated, I don’t want that”, he said – and said he was worried his three-year old son might be forced to leave his homeland because of the war. “I want him to go to school here, I swear to God I’m worried, I’m worried, oh people, I’m worried”.

He told teachers and pupils at a Kabul high school that children and staff were afraid to turn up because of suicide attacks and bombs.

As he spoke, government officials and women wearing veils were seen wiping tears from their eyes.

It’s not the first time there’s been speculation about President Karzai’s emotional state.

A new book by the investigative journalist Bob Woodward claimed last week that Karzai had been treated for manic depression. ‘Obama’s War’ quoted the US Ambassador to Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, as saying “He’s on his meds, he’s off his meds” – and expressing concern about Karzai’s erratic behaviour, including one occasion when he appeared to advocate joining the Taliban.

In a diplomatic communication leaked last year, Eikenberry said Karzai was “not an adequate strategic partner”.

And the former US envoy Peter Galbraith also raised doubts about the Afghan leader’s mental stability. He told the US network MSNBC back in April that Mr Karzai was “off-balanced” and “emotional”. And, he hinted at further issues, suggesting that “some of the palace insiders say that he was a certain fondness for some of Afghanistan’s most profitable exports” – although he did stress there was no evidence to suggest Karzai had a drug problem.
The President’s office has again dismissed the claims – and dismissed Mr Woodward’s book “highly inflammatory.”