Afghans Gather to Mourn for Assassinated Vice-President

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, July 08, 2002

Afghans Gather to Mourn for Assassinated Vice-President

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Afghan Vice-President Abdul Qadir was buried Sunday with full military honors a day after he was gunned down in an attack that Afghans fear may bring new instability to a nation struggling to build peace after decades of war.

An estimated 10,000 people followed Qadir's body as it was transported on a gun-carriage from Jalalabad's White Mosque to Amir Shaheed Gardens in the city center. Afghan troops in full uniform marched in the procession.

As the body, wrapped in a green, red and black Afghan flag, was lowered into the grave, a Pashto-language poem read over a loudspeaker hailed Qadir as ``a unique man'' and ``a hero of Afghanistan.'' Seven shots were fired into the air, and mourners wept and chanted his name.

Qadir, who also served as minister of public works and governor of Nangarhar province, died Saturday in a hail of bullets after two gunmen opened fire on his vehicle as it was leaving his office in Kabul. His driver, who was also a son-in-law, was killed too but the gunmen escaped.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will call for foreign help in cracking the case if local authorities are unable to make progress in their own investigation, Afghan television reported Sunday.

State-run television said two men had been detained for questioning after they were stopped at a Kabul checkpoint in a car similar to the one used by the killers for their getaway.

Qadir's body was flown here to the Nangarhar capital from Kabul aboard a helicopter provided by the international peacekeeping force following a prayer service attended by Karzai and thousands of mourners.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack. Turkish Army Col. Samet Oz, spokesman for the 5,000-strong international peacekeeping force in Kabul, described the killing as ``an individual attack designed to destabilize the transitional government.''

Qadir was the most prominent ethnic Pashtun in the government after Karzai himself, and his assassination threatens to stir unrest here in Nangarhar province, a relatively wealthy trading and opium poppy-growing region that borders Pakistan.

Instability in such a key region could complicate efforts by the Karzai government to extend its authority beyond Kabul. Qadir was one of five presidents appointed during last month's grand council, or loya jirga, to bring ethnic balance into a government that had been dominated by ethnic Tajiks.

In Washington, U.S. lawmakers said Qadir's assassination should compel the United States to consider an active role in providing security. U.S. operations have been directed at pursuing Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives rather than peacekeeping.

``This was definitely a throwback to the old Afghanistan and a setback to the establishment of the new Afghanistan,'' said Sen. Bob Graham, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on NBC's ``Meet the Press.''

During a speech to the mourners, Afghan Chief Justice Fazle Hadi Shinwari promised the government was doing everything possible to find the killers and he urged people to remain calm.

``This is a test for the people of Afghanistan, of Nangarhar,'' Shinwari told mourners here. ``They should be aware of this and pass this test.''

Qadir was a controversial figure in Afghan politics for nearly 25 years, and residents said a number of groups could have been responsible for his death. As Nangarhar's governor before the Taliban took power, Qadir welcomed Osama bin Laden to Afghanistan in 1996. Later, he joined the opposition northern alliance, which overran Kabul in November after the Taliban fled intensive U.S. bombing.

``We are very upset over the killing of Haji Qadir,'' said one of the mourners, Gul Badshas. ``It's a conspiracy against the Afghans because when we are closer to peace and stability in Afghanistan, this incident happened.''

Throughout the day, armed police manned checkpoints on all approaches to Jalalabad and roamed the largely deserted streets. Most merchants closed their stores although Sunday is a business day.

After arriving at this city's airport, Qadir's coffin, draped in a green, black and red Afghan national flag and sprinkled with red and white roses, was placed on a gun-carriage and driven past thousands of mourners lining the three-mile route to his family home. From there, the body was taken to the White Mosque for final prayers.

Dozens of armed security troops stood guard at the Qadir family home as mourners paid their respects. One man was arrested Sunday morning in front of the White Mosque carrying a small amount of explosives, security chief Ajab Shah said. The man was being questioned and the explosives were being analyzed.

The ceremonies earlier in Kabul were held at the Eid Gah mosque in the old city. Hundreds of Afghan and international troops cordoned off the area, and peacekeeper helicopters hovered overhead.

``This is a tragedy for my family,'' said Din Mohammed, an elder brother. ``I don't know whom to blame.''

Mourners included veterans of the 1980s war against Soviet invaders. Qadir served as a commander.

``We are so sad. This is a big loss and it is a big loss for all of Afghanistan,'' said Haji Saki, a former guerrilla fighter with Qadir. ``Whoever did this must pay.''

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