KABUL (PAN): With exactly two weeks left until the presidential elections on August 20, the second such ballot after the ouster of the Taliban in 2001, presidential candidates continued to attend public meetings in different provinces on Thursday.
In northwestern Faryab, thousands of people attended a rally to voice their support to presidential hopeful Dr Abdullah Abdullah during his visit to the province.
Participants of the gathering, including a parliamentarian, Abdul Rahman Oghly, called Abdullah 'a suitable individual for the presidency.'
Addressing the gathering, Abdullah vowed to improve security situation, accelerate reconstruction efforts and promote education, if elected to the top post.
Reports say insurgents attacked Abdullah's convoy on its way to Maimona, provincial capital, last night, killing his one guard and injuring three others.
Rebel spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid asserted responsibility for the attack. He told Pajhwok Afghan News over telephone that four security guards were killed and three others wounded as a result of the attack. A vehicle was also destroyed in the assault, he added
In northern Saripul, thousands of people gathered in support of Dr Abdullah on Thursday. Around 2000 people in the same province held a meeting in support of another aspirant Dr Ramazan Bashar Dost.
In the same province, leaders of the Ishaqzai tribe pledged their support to Dr Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai. A participant, Mohammad Hashim Sapi, told this scribe that the Ishaqzai tribesmen wanted justice as their lands had been grabbed by warlords.
Another gathering in northern Balkh also backed Dr Ashraf Ghani for the presidency.
In eastern Nangarhar, a gathering organized by incumbent provincial council head, Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, supported Hamid Karzai in the elections.
A gathering of 1,000 people supported Dr Abdullah in another gathering held in the same province.
In Kama district, hundreds of people supported another aspirant Mirwais Yasini in the elections.
Elsewhere, in Khost and Laghman provinces, gatherings were held in support of Hamid Karzai. Gul Rangeen from Zazi Maidan district of Khost said there were no supporters of other candidates except Karzai in his district.
In Kabul, nearly a thousand people from Sahak tribe held a gathering in support of Karzai. They praised the incumbent president for his efforts in the areas of reconstruction and national unity in the country.
In western Herat province, a gathering of 1500 people, including youth and women, was held under aegis of Junbish Milli Afghanistan, led by former anti-Taliban commander Abdul Rashid Dostem in support of Hamid Karzai.
