Polls can’t solve all problems: Wali Massoud

KABUL commander Ahmad Shah Massoud’s brother Ahmad Wali Massoud on Monday said only elections could not resolve all problems and challenges facing the nation.

Speaking on the occasion of marking the 12^th death anniversary of Massoud, he said the upcoming elections should be aimed at steering the country out of crises not competing for power.

He hoped Afghan leaders, politicians and scholars would stay united in keeping the country from plunging into violence after 2014.

“After Ahmad Shah Massoud’s martyrdom, the killing spree of Afghan leaders and tribal elders was intensified by the enemy and continuing to date. It is unfortunate that the Afghan government has not been able to recognise the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” he said.

He said the government had also failed to find and punish the perpetrators behind Ahmad Shah Massoud’s killing, saying the government was yet investigate his assassination.

Massoud, a commander of the Jamiat-i-Islami led by Burhanuddin Rabbani, was martyred by suicide bombers, posing as journalists, in Takhar province on Sept. 9, 2001.

His 12^th death anniversary was observed in Kabul with the laying of a floral wreath on his monument on Monday.

First Vice-President Mohammad Qasim Fahim, Acting Defence Minister Bismillah Mohammadi, Wolesi Jirga Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, 1st Secretary Mohammad Alam Ezedyar, cabinet ministers, lawmakers and the High Peace Council chairman attended the ceremony.

The ongoing week has been declared as Martyrs Week and Monday was observed as public holiday across the country.

Under a presidential decree, the Ministry of Defence will arrange special events, including a public meeting, a poetry contest and a photo exhibition during the week.

mds/ma

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