(21 Feb 2002)
1. Wide of Hamid Karzai, Afghan Interim Prime Minister in office
2. Cutaway flag
3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hamid Karzai, Afghan Interim Prime Minister:
"Extremely united, very, very much, it was something that proved to us that the cabinet was very, very united. Our friends in the cabinet from the United Front, Doctor Abdullah, Mister Qanouni and Mister Fachim took very strong action - both the defence and the interior ministers on the question of Doctor Abdul Rahman. And then the cabinet stood firmly with them on that question and instructed that the people be arrested - it's very, very good."
4. Cutaway
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hamid Karzai, Afghan Interim Prime Minister:
"The investigation is going on. We know who did it, it could be a mix-up with the hajjies as well - but we know who did it and those people are being investigated, thank you."
6. Karzai stands up and walks away
STORYLINE:
Afghanistan's interim Prime Minister Hamid Karzai insisted on Thursday his cabinet is united and not in disagreement over the reason for transport and tourism minister Abdul Rahman's death last week at Kabul airport.
Previously Karzai has blamed the minister's death on a personal feud within his administration.
But on Wednesday Foreign Minister Abdullah publicly discounted those claims. He said Rahman was killed by a crowd of would-be Islamic pilgrims on their way to the hajj. Abdullah said the pilgrims became angry over flight delays to Saudi Arabia.
In an apparent attempt to play down reports of division within his government, Karzai told Associated Press Television News on Thursday that he and the rest of the cabinet back the foreign minister's position.
However, he did not back away from his initial claim that someone was behind the killing. "The investigation is going on. We know who did it," he said. There was no explanation for the apparent contradiction.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
