Posted on 07/09/2002 8:54:37 AM PDT by swarthyguy
PESHAWAR, July 9 (IslamOnline) Security forces in the Afghan city of Jalalabad revealed that there was an assassination attempt on Afghani President Hamid Karzai, during the funeral of Haji Abdul Qadir, the assassinated Afghani Vice President on Sunday, July 7.
Abdul Qadir was killed by anonymous snipers outside his office at the ministry of public works in Kabul.
Speaking to BBCs Pashtu News Service Monday, July 8, Ajab Shah, the security senior official in Jalalabad said that a bomb was discovered inside one of the water tanks in the Central Mosque in the Afghani capital, Kabul, where the funeral prayers were being held.
But the Afghani official said that they unraveled the plot, which targeted the highest officials in the Afghani government, including Karzai and Burhanuddin Rabbani - the former president in Afghanistan - who were both attending the funeral.
He added that his forces arrested the person who placed the bomb in the water tank and that he is now being questioned to find out his motives and who is behind him, but he did not elaborate on this identity.
On Saturday, July 6, after the assassination of Abdul Qadir, Karzai announced that there will be a supreme committee to investigate the incident headed by his Deputy Khalili and including Taj Mohammad Wardek, the Minister of Interior, Mohammad Haneef Atmar, Minister of Rural Development and Aref Surwali, the National Security General Director.
Speaking to Afghani newspaper, Okaz, on Sunday, July 7, Karzai said that he does not rule out the possibility that the Taliban or Al-Qaeda may be behind the incident.
Meanwhile, ruling out that the motives behind his brothers murder may be personal, Haji Al Deen Mohammad, Abdul Qadirs brother said that the murder of his brother was politically motivated.
Abdul Qadir, who became popular in the 1980s for his mujahideen war against the Soviet occupation, joined the Northern Alliance after the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan against the Taliban. Before this, he lived in several European countries and in the United Arab Emirates after fleeing Afghanistan during the Taliban rule.
He participated in the Bonn conference in Germany in December 2001, to have a position in the interim government. But he withdrew to protest the small number of delegates who represent the Pashtun tribes, and he announced his separation from the Northern Alliance.
Abdul Qadir was chosen as the City Building Minister in the interim Afghan government, as the mayor of Ningarhar, and the delegates of the Eastern Provinces (Ningarhar, Konar, Ladman and Naderstan) chose him to represent them in the Afghani National Council the Loya Jirga. After the formation of the Afghani government last month, he was also given the post of Minister of Public Works and was appointed Karzais Vice President.
Thank goodness he got by this ambush, though I fear the black-hats will not give up the effort.
So, if mosques now start blowing, up the good guys don't automatically deserve the credit.
The question is whether we are committed to really helping the Karazi government work and stabilizing Afghanistan. Let's hope.
One can only imagine the Afghan "interrogation" techniques that will be used. ;^)
I predict that events prior to October will make elections on both sides of the LOC moot. Post-monsoon activities by India will coincide with American activities in Iraq.
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