Taliban leader laid to rest in Takhar

TALOQAN (Pajhwok): An Afghan Taliban, was laid to rest in the Kalafgan district of northwestern Takhar province on Tuesday.

Maulvi Abdul Raqib, the Taliban minister of refugees, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen soon after he came out of his residence in the Nasirbagh locality of Peshawar on Monday.

Raqib was seen as one of the Taliban leaders supporting peace talks with the administration of President Hamid Karzai.

Born in Zardalo Dara area of Kalafgan, Raqib’s funeral was attended by hundreds of people and government officials.

The governor’s spokesman, Sunnatullah Timor, told Pajhwok Afghan news High Peace Council official Abdul Hakim Munib and others participated in the funeral ceremony.

Governor Abdul Latif Ibrahimi called the assassination of the Taliban leader a big loss and hailed Raqib as an important voice for peace in Afghanistan.

HPC head, Abdul Qadir Afghan said Raqib could play an important role in arranging peace negotiations with the Taliban.

Mullah Mutasim Agha Jan, the former Taliban political committee leader, condemned the assassination and acknowledged Raqib’s role in peace negotiations.

According to one a source close to Agha Jan, Raqib was among the Taliban leaders who took part in a meeting in Dubai last week.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the killing of Raqib, who had been the only Tajik minister in the Taliban cabinet.

Senior Taliban commander Noorullah Hotak was assassinated in Quetta in December. Haqqani Network leader Dr Nasiruddin Haqqani was killed in Islamabad in November.

mds

Visits: 1