Ahmed Wali Karzai may have been dogged by allegations of links to the drugs trade and corruption, but his shock killing at home by his own head of security deprives NATO and the government of their main ally in the volatile south.
Analysts have warned that his death creates a dangerous power vacuum in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban militia, where rivals are expected to jockey for influence as the US-led NATO mission starts to withdraw troops.
Underlining fears of increased insecurity, two bombs were found along the path of the funeral cortege from Kandahar city to Dand district, where the younger Karzai was buried in the family plot.
NATO troops detonated both in controlled explosions, police said.
NATO troops detonated both in controlled explosions, police said.
The governor of neighbouring Helmand province, another bitter battleground against the Taliban, escaped unhurt with his provincial intelligence chief when a bomb attack targeted their convoy en route to the funeral.
At the end of the funeral Karzai renewed his call on the Taliban to make peace, despite the militia’s claim to have recruited the assassin.
“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.
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