Afghan Transport Minister Reported Killed by Haj Pax
 

I guess this could be considered "feedback on flight delays" in some cultures...

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Friday February 15, 1:26 AM

Afghan pilgrims kill transport minister-TV

DUBAI (Reuters) - Afghan Muslim pilgrims, angry over plane delays, have attacked and killed Afghanistan's interim transport minister at Kabul airport, Arabic-language al-Jazeera television has reported.

. .It quoted its reporter in the Afghan capital as saying Air Transport and Tourism Minister Abdul Rahman had gone to the airport to leave on a trip abroad when he was attacked on Thursday by a large number of disgruntled pilgrims awaiting flights to Saudi Arabia.

. .There was no immediate confirmation of the report by Afghan officials. Foreign journalists were unable to go to the airport to check on reports of a disturbance there because of a curfew.

. .More than 5,000 Afghans planning to leave for the annual haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia have been told that foreign aircraft are being leased for the trip as Afghanistan's Ariana airline has only one functioning plane, Afghan-based reporters said.

. .Saudi officials have said pilgrims coming from abroad must arrive by Sunday to be able to perform haj, one of Islam's five pillars.

I wonder if Bin Laden will be one of the pax. He probably has jump seat authorization.

The latest on the "religious pilgrims" from the BBC:

. .Friday, 15 February, 2002, 04:52 GMT . .Kabul mob kills Afghan minister

. .Planes were delayed and some failed to turn up

A mob of Afghan pilgrims has beaten to death a minister in the country's interim cabinet at Kabul airport. . .Afghan government sources confirmed on Friday that Civil Aviation Minister Abdul Rahman had died of his injuries.

A crowd of about 1,000 pilgrims, who were waiting to set off for the traditional Muslim Hajj, assaulted the minister on Thursday after rumours that he had cancelled a flight to Saudi Arabia.

Nobody was arrested after the incident and all the pilgrims finally left.

The BBC's Damian Grammaticas in Kabul says the minister's bodyguards were unable to save him from the mob who had surrounded him and his plane.

Failed intervention

The attack shows the weakness of the fledgling Kabul police force in charge of the civil aviation side of the airport where it took place, our correspondent says.

. .Some pilgrims had been waiting for two days . . . .Troops of the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), who are also deployed at the airport, tried to calm the situation, but could not save the minister.

Our correspondent says the pilgrims had waited for two days in freezing temperatures to board flights to the holy city of Mecca.

Tempers appear to have flared after two planes that were due to pick up the pilgrims were delayed.

It was not clear why Mr Rahman had gone to the airport - perhaps to pacify the crowd.

The Qatar-based television channel Al-Jazeera said the assault on the minister happened "following rumours that he cancelled one of the flights ... in order to use the plane to travel to India with his family".

The interim administration, which took office in December, met late on Thursday at the presidential palace to discuss the attack.

The French news agency AFP says that early on Friday, despite a curfew in the rest of Kabul, dozens of pilgrims were still at the airport waving their tickets in their hands trying to talk to officials.

Extra troops were sent to the airport, while others patrolled the city in vans.

. .<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1821000/1821419.stm" target="_blank">http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1821000/1821419.stm</a>

Maybe Stephen Byers could be seconded to help run Afghan Railways (without a bodyguard.) <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

Good what religion can do for the soul, some one , some where is telling us civilised westeners that Islam is a peace loving thing, well this is a good reason why not to believe all that we are currently being fed! <img src="eek.gif" border="0">

"There's nothing funny about that" says my 12-year-old daughter, when she read about the latest atrocity, and she's right. The frightening thing is that these Muslims are probably not characterized as "fundamentalists" or "fanatics". The "pilgrims" behaviour was simply barbaric. (My opinion)

In an alternate universe imagine that the "pilgrims" were staff at BA, and the "minister" was Uncle Rod! Incoming... <img src="eek.gif" border="0">

On the news that I have from other newspapers is quite different, or, at least adds something to what is being said here.. .The news says he (and his family) wanted to go to India and so he cancelled the Ariana flight that was bound for Mecca for his own personal trip. That's when the mob got "a bit irritated" (to say at least) and he was killed on spot.. .If it's true I don't know but certainly not an impossible scenario...like a banana republic.

Rubbish AeroBoero. Everyone knows that the Republic of Ireland is a Banana Republic, but nobody has killed Mary O'Rourke yet.

Although, to be fair MOL would love to get his mits on her.

From the articles I've seen on Reuters, AeroBoero looks to have got it right. Think Rahman's first mistake was commandeering the aircraft but the one that clinched it was when he then got off the aircraft to say a few words to the crowd to calm them down.....

All the pilgrims did is expedite his desire to be closer to their god. And since when is cold blooded murder a crime to these people.

Before making any statements about Islam, let us not forget that those people who killed the minister are most probably not 'civilised' to begin with. They live in a 'tribal' environment as they have for thousands of years and the slightest incident can cause long-lasting wars between them.

what they need is a "Stop-over" somewhere in the country ...... that would really get things on the boil!!!!

Boilermaker,

You're right. There were problably a few Israeli Mossad agents in the crowd that murdered him. Muslims are incapable of such things.



. .Has Islam been hijacked? If so, by which group, the peaceful ones or the vilolent ones?

Now ruled an assination carried out by other members of the Afghan Government...about 20 in all. Even more amazing is the Afghan leader's stunning clain there was no conspiracy ...??

<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/02/15/afghan.minister/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/02/15/afghan.minister/index.html</a>

Wow, the Hatfields and McCoys.

Imagine a country run by gangs with some sort of religious bent.

Sad.....

so sad things are coming to this.....

[ 16 February 2002: Message edited by: Apollo 1 ]</p>

WhatsaLizad,

No need to be sarcastic. I never hinted it was the Mosad or anyone else. All I am saying is for you to do some more research and get your facts straight before insulting an entire religion. The murder was a crime regardless of the religion you belong to. Let us not "hijack" this topic and make it into a religious/political one.

Boilermaker,

Hey, I did my research. According to this religon, I am some sort of subhuman that is going to hell. I don't have much of a personal problem with this, some of my fellow Baptist countrymen think the same.

My little "problem" with this religon is that unlike the devout bible thumpers in the U.S., the Islamic "playbook" considers my living and breathing to be an "insult" and has many "contarctual clauses" permitting my end.

My last words,

With regards,. .Your loyal Kuffar

"contractual" <img src="wink.gif" border="0">