Ahmed Wali Karzai, one of the most powerful men in the country, was shot and killed in his home on July 12 by a member of his private security detail. His death is a major threat to the region’s security and could prompt changes in NATO’s plans, the Monitor reported on the day of his death. Taliban also claimed responsibility for his murder, but many are skeptical.
The death is likely to shake the power bases of Kandahar and it may risk undoing the region’s recent security gains. It may force NATO to remain focused on the south, when it was planning to shift efforts toward the increasingly restive east Afghanistan.
“I don’t think that someone else will be able to play such a role,” says Gawsudin Frotan, an independent analyst in Kandahar. “He was working here like he was a king. He was not appointed as the governor, but he had the power that the governor had.”
