A convoy carrying Vice President Nematullah Shahrani came under attack by remote-control explosives Monday in northern Afghanistan, four days after a rocket was fired at President Hamid Karzai’s helicopter as it attempted to land at a school in the southern region.
Shahrani was unhurt but a driver was injured by the roadside bomb in Kunduz province. The attack came amid escalating threats from Islamic extremists and other groups that seek to sabotage the country’s first-ever presidential elections scheduled for Oct. 9.
The incident coincided with the deaths of two U.S. soldiers in a gun battle with Islamic militants in Paktika province, the reported beheadings of three Afghan soldiers in Zabul province and a warning from a renegade militia leader that Afghan refugees in Pakistan risk attack if they attempt to vote.
In another development, Yonus Qanooni, the former education minister and now the chief presidential challenger, publicly rejected a proposal by Karzai that they join forces in a future government.
“We haven’t made any deals,” he told several journalists, confirming widespread reports that intermediaries had been meeting in an attempt to reach a reconciliation between the two men. “The discussions we have had with the government were not satisfactory to us or the people of Afghanistan.”
Qanooni, 43, said he would announce his campaign platform Tuesday. He is viewed as Karzai’s only serious challenger in a field of 18 candidates.
The former minister had been part of the Cabinet since the government was formed under a UN plan in December 2001, but he decided to join the race in July after Karzai dropped a close Qanooni ally, Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim, as a vice presidential running mate.
Karzai, 47, who was uninjured in the attack Thursday near Gardez, is still considered unbeatable. But Qanooni’s last-minute entry into the campaign has raised fears that the election will be dangerously fragmented along ethnic lines.
Qanooni represents the Tajik minority. Karzai, who departed Sunday to New York, is a member of the larger Pashtun group.
As a result, a group of foreign diplomats and moderate aides to both sides have been pressing for a pre-election rapprochement between the two men, and it was widely rumored during the past week that an agreement was pending.
Several sources said Qanooni and Karzai had difficulty persuading their hard-line supporters to accept such a deal, as the elections approach and political tensions rise.
“Some understanding must be reached, because Afghanistan is not prepared for political competition,” said one regional diplomat. “The daggers have been drawn along ethnic lines, so extremists on both sides can hijack the agenda and the moderates like Qanooni and Karzai cannot control it. There is a real danger that the situation can get out of hand.”
The most serious obstacle for a successful election, which has seen little campaigning by the candidates, remains the lack of security, as widespread voter intimidation is feared. The United States and NATO have agreed to send extra troops during the balloting to bolster the 21,000 already in Afghanistan.
