Afghans mourned Vice President Haji Abdul Qadir at a funeral service yesterday as investigations began into an assassination that threatens the country's fragile stability.
Qadir, one of three newly appointed vice presidents and also minister for public works, was shot dead while being driven out of his ministry compound on Saturday, the second Cabinet member to be murdered in Afghanistan this year.
A powerful regional warlord who agreed to join the central government, his death represents a serious setback to President Hamid Karzai's efforts to build an alliance to lead the country out of 23 years of war toward elections in 18 months' time.
"He was very much part of Karzai's strategy to try and bring warlords into the center and give up their fiefdoms," said Pakistani author and Afghan expert Ahmed Rashid.
"Clearly after this, warlords are going to be very reluctant to come into the center, simply because they are more vulnerable in Kabul.
"This has been a devastating blow to Karzai's strategy."
Although officials have not suggested any motive for Qadir's murder or named any suspects, police have arrested all 10 security guards at the ministry for failing to prevent the attack or apprehend the gunmen, who sped off in a waiting taxi. The men were appointed by Qadir's predecessor, Abdul Khaliq Fazal.
Karzai has set up a five-member team headed by another vice president, Karim Khalili, to investigate the murder.
The scenes that unfolded during Qadir's funeral service in Kabul will be a reminder to Afghanistan's fledgling government that the people are growing tired of the endless cycle of violence.
Thousands of mourners thronged the cortege as it made its way to the main mosque, the coffin draped in velvet and the red, black and green Afghan flag.
"If they can kill a minister guarded by strong bodyguards, what chance do I have?" said student Namin, 22. "I am a powerless member of the public. It is very frightening."
"Karzai has to do whatever is necessary to stop the violence," said Navid Bakhsh, a 43-year-old civil servant in Kabul. "Words on TV and radio don't help, there must be action. Disarmament [of the warlords] should start."
Suspicion has fallen on everyone from the remnants of the Taliban to drug lords involved in the opium trade in eastern Afghanistan or simply people with personal or business scores to settle.
Qadir was one of the few Pashtuns in the Tajik-dominated Northern Alliance which swept the Taliban from power last year, backed by US airpower.
As such, he made enemies among Pashtuns who accused him of selling out their cause for personal gain. But his assassins could just as easily have been Tajiks determined to prevent the emergence of any strong Pashtun leaders, analysts said.
"Haji Qadir had so many enemies it could be anyone," said Pakistani newspaper editor and Afghan expert Rahimullah Yusufzai.
Qadir's younger brother, mujahidin commander Abdul Haq, was executed by the Taliban shortly after the US launched its air strikes on Afghanistan.
In February, Tourism Minister Abdul Rehman was killed at Kabul airport under circumstances which have never been made clear.
Qadir's death also illustrated the problems facing Karzai as he tries to unify the country and wean it away from the gun and towards democracy.
"He was a bridge between the Northern Alliance and the Pashtuns, the most effective bridge, and he's gone," said Rashid.
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