Karzai Urges Peace with Taliban after Burying Brother
Afghan President Hamid Karzai Wednesday renewed his call on the Taliban to make peace, even as he buried his brother whose assassination was claimed by the militia.
A grieving Karzai led thousands of mourners at the funeral of his brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, who was assassinated at his home in southern Kandahar city by his own head of security on Tuesday.
"Even if the Taliban say they have killed my brother, I call on them, brothers, come make peace," the president told a crowd of tribal elders and politicians in Kandahar after the funeral.
He said that despite the death of his brother, "we're determined to make peace. Nothing will stop us from bringing peace and stability to this country."
Karzai has been pushing to persuade the Taliban and other insurgents fighting against his government to reconcile in an internationally backed process.
The Taliban, the main group behind an increasingly deadly insurgency in Afghanistan, have claimed responsibility for the killing and said that the assassin Sardar Mohammad was their associate.
However, other commentators have expressed doubt that the Taliban were behind the actions of Mohammad, who was the long-serving chief of the younger Karzai's personal protection force.
Source: Agence France Presse
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