{"id":248,"date":"2010-04-30T17:08:03","date_gmt":"2010-04-30T17:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp3\/?p=248"},"modified":"2010-04-30T17:08:03","modified_gmt":"2010-04-30T17:08:03","slug":"afghan-elder-who-spoke-out-shot-dead-near-kandahar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghan elder who spoke out shot dead near Kandahar"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin-left: 5px; float: left;\" alt=\"karzai_shura\" src=\"images\/stories\/news\/karzai_shura.jpg\" width=\"234\" height=\"198\" \/>A prominent Afghan tribal leader who spoke of his fears of assassination by the Taliban has been killed near the southern city of Kandahar.<\/div>\n<p>  <!--more-->  <\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Unidentified gunmen shot Abdul Rahman in the head as he was walking home.<br \/>Mr Rahman had become widely known in Afghanistan after telling President Karzai that those who spoke out against the Taliban risked being killed.<br \/>The Taliban are blamed for a spate of killings in Kandahar province ahead of a planned Nato-led assault this summer.<br \/>At least 13 community leaders and government officials have been killed in and around the city of Kandahar in less than two months.<br \/>Earlier this week the UN moved foreign staff out of the city and told 200 of its local employees to stay at home because of the deteriorating security situation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Elders&#8217; anger<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mr Rahman was shot dead in his home district of Zharai, not far from Kandahar city.<br \/>He was among elders who took President Karzai to task at an angry meeting of 1,500 tribesmen in the city at the start of April.<br \/>On a rare visit to the area, the birthplace of the Taliban, the president was sharply criticised on issues of security, corruption, bribery and nepotism.<br \/>He was also told few dared join the army for fear of being killed by the militants.<br \/>Mr Rahman was one of a number of elders who said they feared being killed by the Taliban if they spoke out against them.<br \/>The BBC&#8217;s Lyse Doucet &#8211; one of the few foreign journalists at the shura in Kandahar &#8211; said the elders made it clear they thought Mr Karzai&#8217;s government was as much a problem as the militants, who have grown in strength in the region in recent years.<br \/>Mr Rahman accused certain officials of destabilising Kandahar and named a number of them at the meeting. He said their activities were making the province insecure.<br \/>President Karzai had gone to Kandahar with top US commander Gen McChrystal to try to win support for the anti-Taliban offensive.<br \/>The campaign in Kandahar is being led by a major emphasis on politics &#8211; unlike the last offensive in neighbouring Helmand province which began with a military push.<br \/>The message from the tribesmen was that they are not ready for any major military assault &#8211; Mr Karzai assured them it would not start without their support and recognised there was a lot for him to fix first.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spate of killings<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kandahar has seen a wave of violence in recent weeks.<br \/>Officials killed since February include the city&#8217;s deputy major who was shot dead in a mosque earlier this month.<br \/>The Taleban accused the men of being &#8220;puppets&#8221; for the government.<br \/>Kandahar city continues to have strong links with the Taliban and Western military commanders expect an increase in violence in the coming months.<br \/>The US military want to secure the city and put it firmly under Afghan government control. The battle is seen as a potential defining moment in the conflict.<br \/>Kandahar city is key to the new US military strategy of protecting major population centres.<br \/>But the Taleban appear determined to stop that happening in their traditional stronghold.<\/p>\n<p>Source: BBC<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A prominent Afghan tribal leader who spoke of his fears of assassination by the Taliban has been killed near the southern city of Kandahar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c59-islamic-world"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Afghan elder who spoke out shot dead near Kandahar - SunniOnline<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Afghan elder who spoke out shot dead near Kandahar - SunniOnline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A prominent Afghan tribal leader who spoke of his fears of assassination by the Taliban has been killed near the southern city of Kandahar.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SunniOnline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-04-30T17:08:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"majed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"majed\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/04\\\/30\\\/248\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/04\\\/30\\\/248\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"majed\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be\"},\"headline\":\"Afghan elder who spoke out shot dead near Kandahar\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-04-30T17:08:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/04\\\/30\\\/248\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":535,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Muslim World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/04\\\/30\\\/248\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/04\\\/30\\\/248\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/04\\\/30\\\/248\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afghan elder who spoke out shot dead near Kandahar - SunniOnline\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-04-30T17:08:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/04\\\/30\\\/248\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/04\\\/30\\\/248\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/2010\\\/04\\\/30\\\/248\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Afghan elder who spoke out shot dead near Kandahar\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/\",\"name\":\"SunniOnline\",\"description\":\"The Official Website of Sunni Community in Iran\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be\",\"name\":\"majed\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"majed\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sunnionline.us\\\/english\\\/author\\\/majed\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Afghan elder who spoke out shot dead near Kandahar - SunniOnline","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Afghan elder who spoke out shot dead near Kandahar - SunniOnline","og_description":"A prominent Afghan tribal leader who spoke of his fears of assassination by the Taliban has been killed near the southern city of Kandahar.","og_url":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/","og_site_name":"SunniOnline","article_published_time":"2010-04-30T17:08:03+00:00","author":"majed","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"majed","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/"},"author":{"name":"majed","@id":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be"},"headline":"Afghan elder who spoke out shot dead near Kandahar","datePublished":"2010-04-30T17:08:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/"},"wordCount":535,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Muslim World"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/","url":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/","name":"Afghan elder who spoke out shot dead near Kandahar - SunniOnline","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-04-30T17:08:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2010\/04\/30\/248\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Afghan elder who spoke out shot dead near Kandahar"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/#website","url":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/","name":"SunniOnline","description":"The Official Website of Sunni Community in Iran","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/26da0e970ff572e94f1b7d9009ab39be","name":"majed","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d14a5567692b3eb9bd620c2cb94ec98fcf8d44e4ec418fc172b76b04163a7ee9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"majed"},"url":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/author\/majed\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}