Afghanistan delays Kandahar vote after commander killing

MATTIS SAYS US MILITARY WILL CONTINUE TO DEFEND AFGHAN PEOPLE AND SUPPORT POLLS Millions of Afghans are expected to vote in a long-delayed parliamentary election that has been hampered by chaotic preparations, allegations of fraud and ever-present violenc

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Today’s parliamentary election in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar will be delayed by a week after the assassination of one of the country’s most powerful security chiefs dealt a stunning blow to the Western-backed government.

General Abdul Raziq, the Kandahar police commander, was killed outside the provincial governor’s office on Thursday, when a bodyguard opened fire on a group of officials as they left a meeting with General Scott Miller, the commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan.

Miller was not injured but the regional intelligence agency commander was killed and the provincial governor severely wounded, decimating the leadership of one of the country’s most strategically important provinces.

Although nominally a provincial police chief, Raziq was one of the most powerful political figures in Afghanistan and a formidable opponent of the Taliban, with unchallenged authority across the volatile south of the country.

The decision to suspend the vote in Kandahar province was taken over the objections of some officials who warned that any delay would threaten the whole process and hand the Taliban a major propaganda victory.

Today’s election had been seen as a major test of the government’s credibility and ability to organise a nationwide ballot ahead of the more important presidential election next April.

But the shock of Raziq’s death meant the people of Kandahar were “morally not ready to vote”, Hafizullah Hashimi, spokesman of the Independent Election Commission, said.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said it was too soon to say what effect Raziq’s death would have but added that the US military’s mission was unaltered. “We are going toward the election and we will continue to defend the Afghan people,” Mattis told reporters travelling with him in Singapore. ■

AP Civilians and military personnel stand beside the grave of General Abdul Raziq, Kandahar police chief, during his burial ceremony in Kandahar, yesterday. Afghanistan’s election commission yesterday postponed elections in Kandahar for a week.

Sources: Liveuamap, Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan, UNAMA Graphic News/©Gulf News