[ Afghan Elections 2004-2005 ]

Ali Ahmad Jalali said on 7 October that "initial investigation shows that they [those behind the attack against Mas'ud] were drug mafia," AFP reported. According to the Afghan Interior Minister, the "drug mafia," supported by militant neo-Taliban and foreign "terrorists" -- a term used for Al-Qaeda -- are trying to derail Afghanistan's first presidential election. Afghanistan's growing drug problem is being characterized as a major security challenge by the Afghan administration and some foreign countries. However, those responsible for Afghan security, namely the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, has consistently maintained that counternarcotics is not part of its mandate. By blaming the attempt on Mas'ud's life on the drug lords, Jalali is turning attention to the link between militants, terrorists, and drug cartels in his country -- elements which he referred to as "the enemies of peace and stability" (see "RFE/RL Afghanistan Report," 20 February, 29 May, and 5 June 2003; 12 February, 2 and 10 June, and 1 September 2004). (Amin Tarzi)