Ex-Afghan president Rabbani assassinated

Kabul, Sept 20 (IBNS) Burhanuddin Rabbani, the former president of Afghanistan and the chairman of High Peace Council, was assassinated along with three others in a suicide bomb attack on his residence here on Tuesday evening.

The killing of Rabbani, who was a peace negotiator with the Talibans, came as a shock to many and drew widespread condemnation.

According to a CNN report quoting Kabul police, the bomber was supposedly a Taliban member who had come for peace negotiations apparently with an explosive device under his turban.

"This is a sad day for us in Afghanistan but a day of unity and day of continuity for our efforts," said Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has voiced shock and sadness after learning of the deaths earlier today of Burhanuddin Rabbani, the former president who has been spearheading recent peace and reconciliation efforts within the country.

Media reports indicate that Professor Rabbani - who was serving as Chairman of the High Peace Council in Afghanistan - was killed at his home in Kabul, the capital, as he was meeting with members of the Taliban in a bid to bring about a rapprochement.

A number of people were injured, include Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, the head of the joint secretariat of Afghanistan's Peace and Reintegration Programme, according to a news release issued by UNAMA.

"UNAMA condemns in the strongest possible terms this attack on people who were working to bring peace in Afghanistan and extends its deepest condolences to the families of those affected," the mission said in a statement.

Staffan de Mistura, the head of UNAMA and the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, stressed that "the search for peace must continue," adding that UNAMA will assist efforts to bring peace to the violence-wracked country.

Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was born in 1940, was President of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996 and for a second term in 2001.

Rabbani was the leader of Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Society of Afghanistan). He also served as the political head of the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (UIFSA), an alliance of various political groups who fought against Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

He served as President from 1992-1996 until he was forced to leave Kabul because of the Taliban takeover of the city. His government was recognized by many countries, as well as the United Nations.

He was also the head of Afghanistan National Front (known in the media as United National Front), the largest political opposition to Hamid Karzai´s government.