Fahim, who survived at least two assassination attempts, died from complications caused by diabetes and heart problems, according to officials who declined to be named.
He was senior vice-president under President Hamid Karzai and was accused of being a ruthless strongman who maintained his own militia forces, but he also received American support as Afghanistan struggled for stability following the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
‘With extreme sorrow, Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, the first vice-president of Afghanistan, passed away due to an illness,’ the presidential palace said in a statement. It said that President Karzai expressed his deep condolences over the ‘uncompensable loss’ of ‘a patriot and a great mujahid’.
With strong backing from Washington, Fahim was appointed to the key position of defence minister in 2002, where he was criticised for appointing mainly Tajik senior officers and failing to build a representative national army.
He also served as a vice-president from 2002-2004, but was removed by Karzai from both jobs in 2004 in one of the many power struggles that have undermined efforts to develop the war-torn and impoverished country. Fahim returned as senior vice-president in the 2009 election as Karzai sought to broaden his support base in a policy that was widely seen as appeasing some of most violent men in Afghanistan.
At the time, the Human Watch Rights group described Fahim as ‘one of the most notorious warlords in the country, with the blood of many Afghans on his hands.’ But the United Nations struck a different note on Sunday, saying that Fahim had been ‘a good and trusted partner’ of the UN mission in Afghanistan.
He was senior vice-president under President Hamid Karzai and was accused of being a ruthless strongman who maintained his own militia forces, but he also received American support as Afghanistan struggled for stability following the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
‘With extreme sorrow, Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, the first vice-president of Afghanistan, passed away due to an illness,’ the presidential palace said in a statement. It said that President Karzai expressed his deep condolences over the ‘uncompensable loss’ of ‘a patriot and a great mujahid’.
With strong backing from Washington, Fahim was appointed to the key position of defence minister in 2002, where he was criticised for appointing mainly Tajik senior officers and failing to build a representative national army.
He also served as a vice-president from 2002-2004, but was removed by Karzai from both jobs in 2004 in one of the many power struggles that have undermined efforts to develop the war-torn and impoverished country. Fahim returned as senior vice-president in the 2009 election as Karzai sought to broaden his support base in a policy that was widely seen as appeasing some of most violent men in Afghanistan.
At the time, the Human Watch Rights group described Fahim as ‘one of the most notorious warlords in the country, with the blood of many Afghans on his hands.’ But the United Nations struck a different note on Sunday, saying that Fahim had been ‘a good and trusted partner’ of the UN mission in Afghanistan.
Source: Latest News in Hindi
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