Killings rattle Afghanistan as election campaigns start
4 Feb 2014 6:24 AM IST
Afghanistan’s presidential candidates held rallies in Kabul on Sunday at the start of a campaign to elect Hamid Karzai’s successor, as the killing of a frontrunner’s aides highlighted the security threat to the poll.
Gunmen shot dead two members of former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah’s team in the western city of Herat on Saturday, dealing an early blow to hopes of a peaceful campaign as the country prepares for its first democratic transfer of power.
The 5 April election is seen as a key test of the effectiveness of the 350,000-strong Afghan security forces as foreign troops prepare to exit the country, while the future of US troops in the country beyond 2014 is set to dominate the agenda.
Earlier in the day, thousands of people, mostly men, gathered in giant wedding halls where candidates delivered speeches and called on war-weary Afghans to vote for them.
The elder brother of President Hamid Karzai, Qayum Karzai started his campaign in the Loya Jirga, a traditional gathering venue.
‘We will keep all the positive achievements of of the current government and we will work on those works that this government has not done yet,’ he said in front of thousands of supporters.
Earlier, Abdullah, who came second to Karzai in the chaotic and fraud-riddled 2009 election, conveyed his condolences to the families of his slain aides and outlined his priorities as ‘security in the far villages of Afghanistan, fighting corruption, (and) enforcing rule of law’.
He said the signing of a bilateral security agreement (BSA), which would allow about 10,000 US troops to be deployed in the country after NATO withdraws by December, was essential to safeguarding the country’s future.
Gunmen shot dead two members of former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah’s team in the western city of Herat on Saturday, dealing an early blow to hopes of a peaceful campaign as the country prepares for its first democratic transfer of power.
The 5 April election is seen as a key test of the effectiveness of the 350,000-strong Afghan security forces as foreign troops prepare to exit the country, while the future of US troops in the country beyond 2014 is set to dominate the agenda.
Earlier in the day, thousands of people, mostly men, gathered in giant wedding halls where candidates delivered speeches and called on war-weary Afghans to vote for them.
The elder brother of President Hamid Karzai, Qayum Karzai started his campaign in the Loya Jirga, a traditional gathering venue.
‘We will keep all the positive achievements of of the current government and we will work on those works that this government has not done yet,’ he said in front of thousands of supporters.
Earlier, Abdullah, who came second to Karzai in the chaotic and fraud-riddled 2009 election, conveyed his condolences to the families of his slain aides and outlined his priorities as ‘security in the far villages of Afghanistan, fighting corruption, (and) enforcing rule of law’.
He said the signing of a bilateral security agreement (BSA), which would allow about 10,000 US troops to be deployed in the country after NATO withdraws by December, was essential to safeguarding the country’s future.
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