Karzai says killing of cousin in reported family feud will be investigated

Karzai to investigate cousin’s killing

KABUL — Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday he has asked the interior ministry to investigate the killing of one of his young relatives in what was reportedly a family feud.

Waheed Karzai, 18, was shot to death in October in Karz, the president’s hometown. He was the son of the president’s cousin, Yar Mohammad Karzai.

The New York Times this week quoted relatives as saying they believed the killing was vengeance for a so-called honor killing allegedly committed by Yar Mohammad Karzai three decades ago. The report cites relatives as saying he killed the father of another of the president’s cousins, Hashmat Karzai.

Karzai said the investigation will show whether the killing was “intentional or something else.” The newspaper cites Hashmat Karzai as denying any role in the October shooting and suggesting it was committed by drug dealers who targeted the teenager by mistake.

At a news conference with NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Karzai reiterated his urging of the Taliban to enter negotiations, saying that foreign troops would not be needed in the country if there were peace.

The Taliban has so far rejected his proposal, while resentment of the foreign troop presence in Afghanistan appears to be rising and fueling support for the Taliban.

The United States plans to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan next year, and another 7,000 have been pledged by other countries.