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KABUL (Pajhwok): A senior member of the Hezb-i-IslamiAfghanistan (HIA) on Monday warned of withdrawing support to presidential runner Qutbuddin Hilal if he pulled out of the race in favour of another candidate.

Eng. Mohammad Amin Karim, a France-based HIA member, made clear the party had extended conditional support for Hilal’s candidacy.

Women make up close to half of the Afghan population, and despite issues in past elections, many of them seem determined to leave their mark on the upcoming presidential and provincial council elections.

Despite provincial council campaigns having started 10 days ago, the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) has still not completed its review of candidates' qualifications. Many candidates who have been disqualified since the start of the campaign period have openly aired criticisms of the ECC. 

"The weakness is in the Election Complaints Commission," recently disqualified provincial council candidate Said Naeem Kashfi said. "This Commission has been recently established and still does not have an office in provinces like Maidan Wardak and others."

Second Vice President Muhammad Karim Khalili spoke of the government's commitment to holding transparent and just elections in April at a gathering on Friday.

The gathering was held to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the death of Ali Mazari, a Jihadi leader who was killed by the Taliban. However, most of the speeches at the event, like Kahilili's, were related to the upcoming elections, which are expected to be pivotal in determining the future of the country as the NATO combat mission comes to an end after 13 years of war.

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Militants laced with hand grenades attacked campaign offices of three election candidates in eastern Laghman province, comprehensively damaging the buildings, an official said Friday.

The campaign offices belonging to provincial council runners were attacked in Chaharbagh bazaar of Qarghai district, the governor’s spokesman, Sarhadi Zwak, told Pajhwok Afghan News

There were no casualties, but the blasts comprehensively damaged the offices belonging to Qari Mir Hathim Tarakhel, Abdullah and Yusuf Malakzai, he added.

KABUL (Pajhwok): President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday called late Vice-President Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim as a man of principles and a good partner of him on important national interest issues.

After presiding over the state funeral service for the late VP, Karzai said his longtime and all-weather friend had departed forever.  He called Fahim a brother, who spent his entire life in the service of his country.

Although Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, President Hamid Karzai's First Vice President had a crucial role on elections and was supporting a particular team, he never announced his support for a particular candidate, Fahim's allies said on Tuesday.

The allies added that Fahim always persuaded Karzai to work on the formation of a national government and claim that Karzai persistently delayed his call.

Marshal Fahim, who was the former commander of the Northern Alliance and Tajik leader from Panjshir, died of a heart attack in his Kabul home on Sunday.

The Afghan vice-president Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, formerly one of the country's feared warlords, has died of natural causes. The Afghan government has declared three days of national mourning.

Fahim, a leader of the Tajik ethnic minority, served as senior vice-president to Hamid Karzai, who is due to step down as president at elections next month. Nato combat forces are also to pull out ofAfghanistan after 13 years of fighting the Taliban.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Canada’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Deborah A. Lyons has said religious scholars have a leading role to play in creating awareness among women about their participation and right to vote in the historic Afghan elections.

In her exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, she said Afghans had a great respect for religious leaders, who could play a crucial role in ensuring a credible turnout.