Remembering the ‘King of Kandahar’

Ahmed Wali Karzai, the half-brother of the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, was shot and killed Tuesday by a security guard. The alleged gunman, identified as Sardar Mohammed, was then killed by Ahmed’s security detail.

Though the details of the assassination are still murky, one thing is clear – Ahmed’s death will have a big impact on Afghanistan’s political landscape.

The elder of a Pashtun tribe, Ahmed lived in exile in the United States for years and ran a restaurant near Wrigley Field in Chicago.

He returned to Afghanistan after the Taliban government fell in 2001, and emerged as the most important figure in the province of Kandahar along with Brigadier General Abdul Razik.

With considerable financial clout and close ties to the United States – he was fluent in English and knowledgeable about both Major League Baseball – Ahmed was regarded as the de facto governor of Kandahar, wielding more power than the official governor and the provincial council.

Ahmed was chairman of the council, which doesn’t wield any real authority and doesn’t have direct control over the region’s security forces.

The “King of Kandahar” owned hotels, real estate companies and a car dealership. He also owned Watan Risk Management and Asia Security Group, which protect supply convoys for the International Security Assistance Force, a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan.

Asia Security Group owns a private paramilitary unit that has helped U.S. forces and the CIA locate and kill Taliban insurgents.

Ahmed used to his clout to shore up support for his brother’s re-election bid but he became something of a liability to his brother’s regime in 2009, when it was reported that he was involved in the drug trade – which helps fund the Taliban in its battle against NATO. Ahmed denied the charges.

He also balked at a New York Times report that said he had worked for the CIA.

He escaped assassination attempts in 2008 and 2009.