Afghan Peace Negotiator Blames Assassination On Foreigners

The head of the Afghan High Peace Council, Salahuddin Rabbani

KABUL -- The head of the Afghan High Peace Council has said the assassination plot that killed an influential peace negotiator was planned outside Afghanistan.

Salahuddin Rabbani, who recently took up his post, made the comments while addressing the Afghan Senate.

His remarks came after Arsala Rahmani, a former Taliban official who became a negotiator and key member of the High Peace Council, was shot dead on May 13 in the capital, Kabul.

Rabbani said "foreign enemies" of the country would not succeed in derailing the peace process and that their interference in the country was a "mistake."

The assassination of Rahmani is seen as yet another setback to the Afghan government's effort to negotiate a political solution to the ongoing battle against Taliban militants.