US President Mr George W. Bush has condemned the assassination of Afghanistan Vice President Haji Abdul Qadir, who was shot dead today by two gunmen close to his offices in the capital Kabul.
Kabul police chief Mr Bashir Salangi said that 10 guards at the Public Works Ministry had been arrested after the assassins escaped after spraying Qadir's car with bullets.
|
|
Afghan Vice President Haji Abdul Qadir
|
Mr Salangi, who said that two gunmen had carried out the killing, said that "one of the guards came out and told one of the assassins that the minister was coming."
Meanwhile the interior minister Mr Taj Mohammad Wardak said: "The motive behind the assassination is not yet clear and we are investigating the case."
President Bush said today: "My administration and our country mourns the loss of a man who desired freedom and stability for the country he loved.".
Asked if terrorists were responsible, he replied: "Could be that, could be drug lords, could be long time rivals. All we know is a good man is dead and we mourn his loss."
The killing once again throws a major question mark over new President Hamid Karzai's attempts to bring stability to Afghanistan at a time when security in Kabul had appeared to have improved.
Mr Qadir, who was until recently governor of the main eastern province of Jalalabad, was one of the most powerful regional leaders in Afghanistan.
His appointment as one of five vice-presidents by Mr Karzai last month was seen as a move to bring an end to the dominance of warlords by drawing them away from their traditional powerbases.
AFP &