September 9, 2005

Afghans remember mujahideen hero Masood

KABUL (Reuters) - President Hamid Karzai reminded Afghanistan of the sacrifice of countless countrymen on Friday as he and other leaders marked the fourth anniversary of the assassination of mujahideen guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Masood.

Masood was killed by al Qaeda suicide bombers two days before the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. His troops, among the mujahideen, or holy warrior, forces who ousted the Soviets, helped the United States rout the Taliban two months later.

"We didn't achieve this huge victory for free," Karzai said in a speech at a ceremony at Kabul's sports stadium.

Afghan soldiers stand under a picture of Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a ceremony marking the fourth anniversary of slain mujahideen guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Masood, in Kabul stadium September 9, 2005. (REUTERS/Ahmad Masood)

Untold thousands of sons of the soil had died in holy war and resistance for the freedom and honour of the nation, he said.

The country will on Sept. 18 elect a lower house of parliament and provincial councils in the last step of a U.S- and U.N.-backed plan to restore democratic government and stability, drawn up days after the Taliban were ousted.

Karzai, who was also in the anti-Soviet mujahideen alliance, was elected president for a five-year term in October last year.

He did not refer to the elections in his speech.

The president does not have a political party and has promised not to interfere in the legislative elections but has called for people to shun ethnic factions and elect honest people who put the country first.

Yunus Qanuni, leader of a loose alliance of parties opposed to Karzai, was a top political official in Masood's faction and has inherited much of his support. He attended on Friday.

One of Masood's brothers, Ahmad Zia Masood, is Karzai's first vice president.

Masood was credited with playing a key role in defeating Afghanistan's Soviet occupation.

He was killed by two Tunisian al Qaeda militants who posed as journalists and died when they detonated a bomb packed in a video camera during an interview.

A huge portrait of Masood dominates the Kabul stadium where the Taliban used to stage public executions. Thousands of people watched as Karzai and other leaders laid wreathes and a guard of honour marched.

Karzai also did not refer to the Taliban insurgency in the south and east where 20,000 U.S. troops are trying to ensure security for the election. About 10,000 NATO-led peacekeepers are also helping to guard the vote.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in violence this year, the bloodiest period since U.S. troops arrived in late 2001.

Masood, an ethnic Tajik, was known as the "Lion of the Panjsher" after his home valley northeast of Kabul from where he battled the Soviets and the Taliban.

In May, a French court jailed three men for helping the al Qaeda agents who killed him.

News Poll

Latest Jobs from Star-Jobs

Latest from StarProperty