NATO military terminal at Kabul Airport (via Wikimedia)

The death of former Taliban minister Arsala Rahmani is unsettling Afghanistan's brittle hopes for a peaceful security transfer.

Rahmani was a member of Afghan President Harmid Karzai's high peace council, one of several former Taliban members to begin working for the government in an effort to peacefully transition out western troops and their accompanying force from the country.

Rahmani was shot and killed while sitting in traffic in Kabul, and is the second member of President Karzai's high peace council to be killed in the past year. 

His death came right as President Karzai was to announce the third phase of a plan designed to remove all foreign troops from Afghanistan and replace all security personnel with the country's own, according to The Guardian.

The International Security Assistance Force, part of the NATO-led forces attempting to reconcile the country's divided factions, released a statement both condemning the killing and triumphing Rahmani's efforts for peace, saying:

"His decision to help make the future brighter for Afghans serves as an inspiration to us all and his contributions will be missed."

While the Taliban has denied responsibility for the attacks, Rahmani's death widens the rift between the Taliban and other national and international peacekeeping efforts. 

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