President's brother was shot dead by 'friend'

PRESIDENT Hamid Karzai's half-brother, the most powerful man in southern Afghanistan, was gunned down yesterday by a close friend.

Ahmed Wali Karzai's death leaves a dangerous power vacuum in the south just as the government has started peace talks with the Taleban.

He was head of the Kandahar provincial council and was shot as he received guests at his home in Kandahar city, the birthplace of the Talebban and scene of a recent Nato offensive.

Provincial governor Tooryalai Wesa named the assasssin as Sardar Mohammad, a man known to Mr Karzai who had gone to his home ostensibly to have him sign some papers.

As Mr Karzai was signing the papers, Mohammad produced a handgun. Mr Wesa said the assassin "took out a pistol and shot him with two bullets - one in the forehead and one in the chest".

The killing came as French president Nicolas Sarzoky visited the capital, Kabul.

During a joint news conference with Mr Sarkozy, President Karzai announced: "This morning my younger brother Ahmed Wali Karzai was murdered in his home. Such is the life of Afghanistan's people. In the houses of the people of Afghanistan, each of us is suffering and our hope is, God willing, to remove this suffering from the people of Afghanistan and implement peace and stability."

Wali Karzai, who was in his 50s and had survived several previous attempts on his life, was seen by many as a liability for the Karzai government after a series of allegations, including that he was on the CIA payroll and involved in drug trafficking. He denied the claims.

The president repeatedly challenged his half-brother's accusers to show him evidence of his wrongdoing, but said nothing had been offered.

Wali Karzai remained a key power broker in the south, helping shore up his family's interests in the Taleban's southern heartland.

According to a government official with knowledge of the investigation, Wali Karzai was holding a meeting in his home with five council members and several village elders, including the assassin.

The official said Mohammad was a close friend and had represented Wali Karzai in their home village of Karz, the president's hometown. Mohammad was the village elder and Wali Karzai emissary and travel companion in Kandahar, the official claimed.

At about 11:30am Mohammad asked to speak to Wali Karzai privately and sign some papers in an adjoining room, the official said. Shots then rang out, according to the official. Wali Karzai's bodyguards then ran into the room and shot and killed the assassin.

The official said that it remains unclear whether the killing was the result of a feud or a Taleban plot.Although tribal rivalries are common in Kandahar, bloodletting within tribes is fairly uncommon.

In Kabul, the political elite reacted to the killing with shock and concern about the future of the country's southern region. Though Wali Karzai held an elected office in the provincial council, people who knew him said he seemed to float above the various political and tribal spheres dominating the south. Throngs of people came to Karzai's house on a daily basis seeking resolutions for everything from family disputes, to tribal battles, to political intrigues.

Members of the international community had urged the president to remove his brother from his powerful position, to prove to the Afghan people he was committed to good governance. But despite his alleged forays into drug trafficking, smuggling, and land theft, many western officials also relied on him because of his understanding of the various players in the area.

The United Nations said in a quarterly report last month that more than half of all assassinations across Afghanistan since March had been in Kandahar.