Hamid Karzai, Afghan President, on Monday denied the riots in Afghanistan that led to 16 deaths had been prompted by a magazine article, calling them instead “a political act against Afghanistan's stability”.

“These demonstrations were in reality not related to the Newsweek story,” he said at a joint press conference held after a meeting with President George W. Bush. “They were more against progress in Afghanistan and our strategic partnership with America. We know the people who were behind the demonstrations.”