Karzai 'threatened to join Taliban'

Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatened over the weekend to quit the political process and join the Taliban if he continued to come under outside pressure to reform, according to several members of parliament.

They said that Karzai made the unusual statement at a closed-door meeting with selected lawmakers - just days after kicking up diplomatic controversy with remarks alleging foreigners were behind fraud in last year's disputed elections.

Lawmakers dismissed the latest comment as hyperbole, but it will add to the impression that the president - who relies on tens of thousands of US and Nato forces to fight the insurgency and prop up his government - is growing increasingly erratic and unable to exert authority without attacking his foreign backers.

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