KABUL, Sept 20: A Taliban suicide bomber on Tuesday killed Burhanuddin Rabbani, former Afghan president and head of the government’s peace council, a dramatic show of militant reach and a heavy blow to hopes of reaching a political end to the war.
The killing was a strong statement of Taliban opposition to peace talks, and as the latest in a string of high-profile assassinations will increase the apprehension of Afghans about their future as the militancy gathers pace.
Since Mr Rabbani was a prominent Tajik, his death is also likely to exacerbate ethnic divides, which in themselves could do more to halt any peace process than the death of a man who while influential had so far produced limited evidence of concrete steps towards negotiations.
“A Taliban member who went to Rabbani’s house for peace talks detonated a bomb hidden in his turban,” a statement by the Kabul police chief’s office said.
A police source said Masoom Stanekzai, a senior adviser to President Hamid Karzai, was badly injured in the attack.
It was the most high-profile assassination in Afghanistan since the younger half-brother of President Hamid Karzai, Ahmad
Wali Karzai, was killed at his home in July by a highly trusted family security guard. It also came just a week after a deadly 20-hour siege by militants in the fortified capital, which illustrated the strength of the Taliban after nearly a decade of war.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility, saying the killer had gone to Mr Rabbani’s home for talks. The central leadership had appointed two “articulate and well-trained” fighters to build contacts with the slain leader.
“Both of them were frequently meeting him at his Kabul home and secured trust of Rabbani and his guards. They were telling Rabbani that they would soon bring senior Taliban leadership to the negotiating table with him,” Mujahid told Reuters by
phone from an undisclosed location.
Mujahid’s statements seemed to broadly match other accounts of the assassination. Mujahid said the group had made similar plans for assassinating “more such people” in the near future.
US President Barack Obama called the killing of Mr Rabbani a tragic loss but said work needed to continue to bring elements of Afghan society together to end years of violence.
President Karzai, at the start of talks with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, said Mr Rabbani’s death “will not deter us” from continuing the quest for peace.
Our Staff Reporter adds from Islamabad: “President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani have condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack which has led to Shahadat of Syed Burhanuddin Rabbani, Chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council and former president of Afghanistan, and injured many others,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
The assassination comes days after Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed on a blueprint for collaborating in efforts for reconciliation with Taliban.
Pakistani diplomats said Mr Rabbani’s death caused a major setback to their reconciliation efforts.
The statement said: “Mr Rabbani has been martyred by the enemies of peace in Afghanistan.”
As the head of the council, Mr Rabbani had been closely working with Pakistan.
In January, he led a delegation of peace council to Pakistan and had held extensive discussions with civilian, military and tribal leaders about peace talks with Taliban.
He again visited Islamabad in June to attend the inaugural session of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Commission for Reconciliation and Peace.Moreover, he had developed a good rapport with Pakistan’s Ambassador in Kabul, Mohammad Sadiq.
“Prof Rabbani was a friend of Pakistan with whom we were working closely within the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Commission for Reconciliation and Peace on a vision for peace and prosperity in Afghanistan,” the statement said.
The killing was a strong statement of Taliban opposition to peace talks, and as the latest in a string of high-profile assassinations will increase the apprehension of Afghans about their future as the militancy gathers pace.
Since Mr Rabbani was a prominent Tajik, his death is also likely to exacerbate ethnic divides, which in themselves could do more to halt any peace process than the death of a man who while influential had so far produced limited evidence of concrete steps towards negotiations.
“A Taliban member who went to Rabbani’s house for peace talks detonated a bomb hidden in his turban,” a statement by the Kabul police chief’s office said.
A police source said Masoom Stanekzai, a senior adviser to President Hamid Karzai, was badly injured in the attack.
It was the most high-profile assassination in Afghanistan since the younger half-brother of President Hamid Karzai, Ahmad
Wali Karzai, was killed at his home in July by a highly trusted family security guard. It also came just a week after a deadly 20-hour siege by militants in the fortified capital, which illustrated the strength of the Taliban after nearly a decade of war.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility, saying the killer had gone to Mr Rabbani’s home for talks. The central leadership had appointed two “articulate and well-trained” fighters to build contacts with the slain leader.
“Both of them were frequently meeting him at his Kabul home and secured trust of Rabbani and his guards. They were telling Rabbani that they would soon bring senior Taliban leadership to the negotiating table with him,” Mujahid told Reuters by
phone from an undisclosed location.
Mujahid’s statements seemed to broadly match other accounts of the assassination. Mujahid said the group had made similar plans for assassinating “more such people” in the near future.
US President Barack Obama called the killing of Mr Rabbani a tragic loss but said work needed to continue to bring elements of Afghan society together to end years of violence.
President Karzai, at the start of talks with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, said Mr Rabbani’s death “will not deter us” from continuing the quest for peace.
Our Staff Reporter adds from Islamabad: “President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani have condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack which has led to Shahadat of Syed Burhanuddin Rabbani, Chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council and former president of Afghanistan, and injured many others,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
The assassination comes days after Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed on a blueprint for collaborating in efforts for reconciliation with Taliban.
Pakistani diplomats said Mr Rabbani’s death caused a major setback to their reconciliation efforts.
The statement said: “Mr Rabbani has been martyred by the enemies of peace in Afghanistan.”
As the head of the council, Mr Rabbani had been closely working with Pakistan.
In January, he led a delegation of peace council to Pakistan and had held extensive discussions with civilian, military and tribal leaders about peace talks with Taliban.
He again visited Islamabad in June to attend the inaugural session of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Commission for Reconciliation and Peace.Moreover, he had developed a good rapport with Pakistan’s Ambassador in Kabul, Mohammad Sadiq.
“Prof Rabbani was a friend of Pakistan with whom we were working closely within the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Commission for Reconciliation and Peace on a vision for peace and prosperity in Afghanistan,” the statement said.
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