Iran's FM Condoles with Afghan Counterpart on Marshal Fahim’s Demise
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday extended his condolences to the Afghan government and nation on the demise of the late first vice-president of the neighboring country.
In a phone call with his Afghan counterpart, Zarar Ahmed Moqbel Osmani, described the late Marshal Fahim as “a prominent figure and an influential Jihadi leader of Afghanistan."
“His death was a great loss for the country’s nation and government,” Zarif added.
The powerful Afghan vice president died of natural causes on Sunday, a government spokesman said, only weeks before Afghanistan goes to the polls to elect a new president.
Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, vice president since 2009, had been a top commander in the Northern Alliance, a group of anti-Taliban militia leaders, during the civil war.
"Marshal M.Q. Fahim has passed away. May his soul rest in peace," presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi wrote in a tweet.
Fahim, a former defense minister, was a staunch backer of President Hamid Karzai and commanded great loyalty from former fighters of the Northern Alliance, which he headed after the death of famous militia leader Ahmad Shah Masoud in 2001.