Afghans protest over US manipulation of summit influence at loya jirga

The warlords of Afghanistan rallied behind their interim leader, Hamid Karzai, yesterday in a display of unity that came after America engineered a climbdown by the country's former king.

Many tribal delegates attending the grand council, or loya jirga, called to pick the members of the new administration, expressed concern at the "outside influence" overshadowing the event. All were aware the American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, had been the first to announce the former king would stay out of government, after intense backroom politicking delayed the assembly opening by 24 hours. The king's decision means Mr Karzai has no serious challenger as president.

"This is not a democracy," Sima Samar, the women's affairs minister, said yesterday. "This is a rubber stamp. Everything has already been decided by the powerful ones."