Burhanuddin Rabbani
8am: Burhanuddin Rabbani, the former leader of the Jamayat-E-Islami party, met his demise at the hands of a suicide bomber who allegedly concealed a bomb in his turban. At the time of his unfortunate death, Rabbani held the esteemed position of leading Afghanistan’s High Peace Council. He had also been a prominent figure within Afghanistan’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, diligently translating numerous articles from Brotherhood thinkers into Persian. For several decades, Rabbani stood as a formidable political force in Afghanistan. From 1992 to 2001, international documents formally recognized him as the President of Afghanistan.
The turn of events after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 drastically altered Rabbani’s political landscape. Prior to this, certain members of the Jamayat-E-Islami party had attempted to pressure him into relinquishing power, but their endeavors proved fruitless. After the capture of Kabul by the United Front, also known as the Northern Alliance, with the air and financial support of the United States, Rabbani was unwilling to concede political authority. He sought to retain power, at least temporarily, and capitalize on his enduring political influence. However, a combination of factors, including internal discord among his party members, notably former Afghan Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim, as well as pressure from the Americans, who even resorted to firing missiles near his residence in Kabul’s Wazir Akbar Khan area as a form of intimidation, ultimately compelled him to relinquish power to Hamid Karzai.