Ottawa – Omar Samad, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Canada issued the following statement this afternoon:

“Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s speech delivered last year in the Parliament of Canada was an Afghan speech highlighting achievements and challenges, expressing the thoughts and wishes of the Afghan people as well as the views of the country’s elected leader.

The draft were conceived and written by key officials within the President’s office in conjunction with Afghan diplomats, and was accompanied with personal input from and direct supervision by the President.

Canadian and Afghan officials in Kabul and in Ottawa spent several weeks working on various facets of the important September 2006 visit to Canada and, as is customary in diplomatic arrangements and coordination, they shared information about protocol, agenda, discussion items and other relevant bilateral issues.

To suggest otherwise is not only ludicrous but also verges on being insulting. It is also sadly diverting attention away from the real issues we face together as two nations, and as part of a strategic multilateral engagement to change conditions for the betterment of Afghanistan.”

September 25, 2007