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Articles: Lawmaker shot dead in Afghanistan

Posted by admin on Saturday, April 01, 2006 - 09:12 PM

A key provincial lawmaker has been shot dead in north-east Afghanistan.

Sayed Sadiq was killed by unidentified gunmen at his home in Takhar province. He became speaker of the provincial assembly after elections in October. Mr Sadiq, a supporter of President Hamid Karzai and a strong critic of the drugs trade, is the first lawmaker killed since parliament's inauguration. Takhar has seen little Taleban activity but there has been rivalry between a number of former mujahideen commanders. Mr Karzai said after hearing the news: "His unfortunate death is an irreparable loss to the people of Afghanistan. "He was a dynamic person and he devoted his entire life to bringing peace and prosperity to the people of Takhar." Ghulam Hazrat, provincial director of security, told the BBC Mr Sadiq was shot in Khoja Ghar district, 60km (37 miles) north of provincial capital Taloqan. Mr Sadiq was an influential local figure, a former commander of the militia run by renegade warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and twice a district governor. Mr Sadiq was also an outspoken opponent of the drugs trade. During a visit by President Karzai, Mr Sadiq said the federal government was aware of which vehicles were being used to smuggle drugs and accused local officials of involvement in the trade.

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