Khan, Watanwal laid to rest

KABUL): President Hamid Karzai’s close aide Jan Mohammad Khan and parliamentarian Mohammad Hashim Watanwal were laid to rest on Monday afternoon in Uruzgan and Kabul respectively.

Khan, a former governor of central Uruzgan province, was killed along with Watanwal, a lawmaker from Uruzgan, in a Taliban assault on his residence in Kabul late on Sunday night.

Khan was buried in Uruzgan and Watanwal in the Murad Big Hill next to the graves of 10 lawmakers in Kabul, a statement from the Presidential Palace said.

A condolence ceremony for the victims was held at the Presidential Palace. President Karzai, Wolesi Jirga Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, cabinet members and parliamentarians, religious scholars, tribal elders and relatives of the victims attended the ceremony.

“Jan Mohammad Khan and Mohammad Hashim Watanwal were both great patriots and their deaths are a huge loss for the country. We will never give up efforts to restore peace to our country; we may lose more lives for the sake of our country,” Karzai told the ceremony.

Khan had selflessly served his country and people and valiantly fought against the Soviet forces during the jihad, said the president, who praised Watanwal as a man of character who preferred to return home and serve his people.

mbg/pr