“Death to Karzai… . Death to the foreign puppets,’’ chanted the throng, some young men, others veterans of the guerrilla war against Soviet occupying forces in the 1980s. “Pakistan is our enemy… . Long live the resistance… . The Muslim people are united.’’
At one point, presidential security guards tried to stop a Rabbani ally, former intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh, from joining the swelling crowd in an area around the walled-off grave. He forced his way in anyway, and guards briefly fired into the air to block thousands of other mourners, some of whom threw stones at security forces.
“A terrorist was allowed to enter and kill our leader; we are not allowed to attend his burial,’’ a furious Saleh declared.
The chaotic outpouring of frustration and statements that the time for peacemaking has passed pointed to Afghanistan’s ethnic divisions and the fragility of its government. It also contrasted with an earlier, stately ceremony at the presidential palace, where Karzai hailed Rabbani as a tireless advocate for reconciliation.
“It is our responsibility to act against those who are enemies of peace,’’ said Karzai, urging Afghans to shun despair over the death of Rabbani in an attack at his home on Tuesday and instead escalate efforts to end the fighting. The US-led coalition plans to withdraw combat troops by the end of 2014, shifting responsibility for security to Afghan forces that are still being coached by foreign mentors.
The 70-year-old Rabbani was the leader of Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance, which helped overthrow Taliban rule during the US-led invasion in 2001.
His death threatens to deepen rifts between the country’s ethnic minorities, especially between those who made up the Northern Alliance - including Tajiks like Rabbani - and the majority Pashtun, who make up the backbone of the Taliban.
