Karzai’s pardons nullify drug court gains Well-known traffickers set free ahead of election Afghan president Hamid Karzai pardoned the five men. One was the nephew of a powerful politician managing Karzai’s reelection campaign, and the presidential decree ordering their release notes that they had ties to a well-respected family, according to a senior Afghan official www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2009/07/03/presidential_pardons_nullify_victories_against_afghan_drug_trade/