Jamal laid to rest in Kabul

KABUL.

Jamal, a close confident of President Hamid Karzai, was killed on Tuesday, the first day of religious festival Eidul Adha, when a bomb hidden in the microphone went off inside the main mosque in Pul-i-Alam, the capital of Logar province.

However, the National Directorate of Security, a day after the assassination, said the explosives had been hidden in a copy of the holy Quran, condemning insurgents for having no respect for the religious book and mosques.

Senior government officials, lawmakers, relatives and hundreds of people attended Jamal’s funeral procession held at the Eid Gah mosque in Kabul.

Senior government officials, who attended the burial ceremony, included President Hamid Karzai Office administrative head, Abdul Karim Khurram, Interior Minister Omar Daudzai, Economy Minister Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal and Wolesi Jirga speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi.

Presidential candidate Qutbuddin Hilal, a leader of the Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan,” Hilal said.

Jamal’s brother Ihsanullah, who arrived from the US to attend the funeral, said his brother had been in love with his country since childhood.

He spoke to Jamal over the phone moments before the blast claimed his life, he said. “The enemies of Afghanistan and its people killed Jamal to end his mission, but his mission cannot be stopped. The people of Afghanistan would take his mission forward.”

A spokesman for the Arghandiwal-led HIA, Abdullah Kamawal, told Pajhwok Afghan News the assassination of Jamal was part of a huge conspiracy, which involved powerful hands.

He said Jamal was due to be introduced as minister of commerce and industry after Eid holidays to replace resigning minister Anwarul Haq Ahadi.

The murder of Jamal, also a former governor of southeastern Khost province, has been condemned by president Karzai, NATO forces, ministers, governors and foreign diplomats based in Kabul.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the bomb blast that also left nearly 20 people injured.

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