Context
Afghan peace council head Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed in a suicide bombing at his Kabul home on Tuesday afternoon. The former Afghan president had been appointed last year, to head a government commission to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban. Mr Rabbaani was killed when the assailant entered his house under the ruse of peace talks, and detonated explosives hidden in his turban. General Abdul Zahir, director of investigations for Kabul said four others including Rabbani’s secretary were also killed in the attacks. Masoon Stanekzai, senior advisor to President Hamid Karzai is said to be seriously injured.
According to officials, the attacker managed to enter the house unsearched by pretending to be members of the peace council. This, and similar attacks this month, raises serious questions about the security situation of Kabul and the control of security forces there. As a result of the attack, US is likely to further increase pressure on Pakistan to act against Haqqani network.
