Decline and Death
Rabbani died in a military hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, of liver cancer on 16 April 2001. According to a press release in Islamabad:
- Mullah Mohammad Rabbani was one of the main founders of the Movement and greatly contributed to peace and security in our country. His service to Islam is unforgettable. His demise is an irreparable loss.
Rabbani's body was repatriated to the southern Afghan city of Kandahar by a UN plane, permitted to operate on humanitarian grounds despite the air embargo against the Taliban Movement. he was buried in the Taliban's Martyr's Cemetery in Kandahar.
Regarding him as somewhat of a moderate, members of the opposition voiced fears that hardliners within the Taliban would strengthen their hold on power following Rabbani's death.
Read more about this topic: Mohammad Rabbani
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