KHANISE (Afghanistan), Sept 7: Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited the grave of Ahmad Shah Masood on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the legendary commander’s assassination.

Karzai himself narrowly survived an attempt on his life on Thursday.

In a brief appearance at the grave, housed in a small, green-domed shrine amid stunning mountain peaks of the Panjsher Valley, Karzai presented a book and some flowers.

He was accompanied by Defence Minister Mohammad Qasim Fahim and Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

“We will continue to fulfil the obligations and the desires of the man who lies here,” Karzai told reporters near the shrine high above the winding, turquoise waters of the Panjsher River.

Masood fought against Soviet occupation in the 1980s and went on to lead the Northern Alliance, which prevented the Taliban from taking over the entire country.

He was assassinated by two Arabs posing as reporters holding Belgian passports. His death is widely seen as a precursor to the Sept 11 attacks in the United States.

SECURITY TIGHT: Security along the winding dirt track which leads up the valley was tight ahead of Karzai’s appearance. Rusting, burnt out hulks of Soviet tanks and armoured personnel carriers by the side of the road were testament to Masood’s tactics of trapping the enemy in his lair.

Karzai arrived from Kabul, 90kms to the southwest, in one of four helicopters and was whisked away again shortly afterwards.

He made the visit to Masood’s shrine two days before Afghanistan marks the first anniversary of his death on Sept 9. Major parades and other events are planned across the country to celebrate the life of the “Lion of the Panjsher”.

Western diplomats in Kabul have voiced unease that Masood’s ethnic Tajik kin are using the anniversary of his death to build up a cult around the commander, whose image adorns many walls and buildings in Kabul and in the north of Afghanistan.—Reuters\AFP