KABUL, Afghanistan — President Hamid Karzai spurned one of Afghanistan's most powerful warlords Monday, refusing to accept Defense Minister Mohammed Qassim Fahim as one of his two vice presidential running mates in fall elections.
The decision increased tensions between Karzai and Fahim, but the warlord will remain in his post as defense minister, said a senior general in Fahim's Northern Alliance militia force. The general spoke on condition that he not be identified because of the sensitive nature of the political dispute.
Fahim was a key U.S. ally in the 2001 war to topple the Taliban regime and can call on about 50,000 militia fighters, as well as units in the Afghan national army who remain loyal to him. He had expected that the military muscle would assure him a place on Karzai's ticket in the October elections.
But with Washington's support, Karzai, the interim president, is trying to sideline old-guard militia leaders such as Fahim, who has resisted pressure to disarm his fighters, end their intimidation of voters and make way for a unified national army.
Karzai confirmed Monday that he would run for president, and he announced that Ahmed Zia Masoud, the brother of assassinated Northern Alliance commander Ahmed Shah Masoud, would seek election as the first of two vice presidents.
Ahmed Zia Masoud is a Tajik from northern Afghanistan, and Karzai is a member of the Pushtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group.
Suspected Al Qaeda suicide bombers killed Ahmed Shah Masoud, a legendary guerrilla veteran of the war against Soviet occupation in the 1980s and later against Taliban rule, two days before the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
Karzai invoked Ahmed Shah Masoud's memory, calling him a "martyr hero," in announcing that his less well-known brother would be on the presidential ticket.
Karim Khalili, Karzai's deputy and a commander from the Hazara minority, will run for election as second vice president, Karzai told reporters.
Younis Qanooni, a senior member of Fahim's Northern Alliance, resigned as Karzai's education minister Monday to enter the presidential race. Qanooni is a respected politician rather than a warlord and might be able to mount a strong challenge to Karzai, who is considered the front-runner.
"I told him that I didn't want to accept his resignation, because I wanted him to work for me, but he has decided that he will be a candidate," Karzai said. "Each and every Afghan has the right to be a candidate, and to vote, and he has used that right, and I wish him all the best in the future."
