After the killing of Afghanistan's Vice-President Haji Abdul Qadir, the media in the region views the latest setback to the country's reconstruction.

A dampener has been put on Afghanistan's recovery

Pakistan's The News

There is a general consensus that the assassination has dealt a serious blow to the fledgling Afghan administration and its leader Hamid Karzai.

"Again another crime in another scene," is the pessimistic headline in Afghanistan's government-run Arman-e Melli, suggesting that Mr Karzai's government has done little to bring stability to the country.

Pakistan's The News says "a dampener has been put on the talk of reconstruction and recovery in Afghanistan".

The paper says the latest killing "should serve as a reminder for the Karzai administration that it is not doing enough to meet its foremost goal - re-establishing the writ of law lost in years of war and civil strife".

Internal rivalries

The News says that in Afghanistan "clouds of political instability and insecurity - rooted in never ending tribal, ethnic, religious and political conflicts and discords - are still as dark as before".

The killing was clearly an attempt to destroy the emerging unity

Tehran Times

Several papers say that this problem of ethnic rivalry, believed to be the reason for the assassination, will be to the detriment of Mr Karzai's government.

The conservative daily The Tehran Times says the assassination of one of the most prominent Pashtuns in the Afghan government has damaged Mr Karzai's policy of trying to bring Afghanistan's powerful warlords into the fold of the central government.

The killing "was clearly an attempt to destroy the emerging unity, consensus and solidarity that was slowly replacing the ethnic rivalries of the past", it adds.

The Iran News newspaper suggests this could be only the start of the government's problems.

It says opponents of Mr Karzai may try to take advantage of the unstable situation created by the assassination.

"The killing of Haji Qadir was aimed to convey the message that the problems of Afghanistan are more complex and intricate than meets the eye."

Foreign forces

Several papers point to the importance of international security forces in the wake of the assassination.

ISAF has an important role in Afghanistan

Iran's hard-line Kayhan says Abdul Qadir's belief that a foreign military presence in Afghanistan was unnecessary after the Taleban's departure was one of the main reasons for his assassination.

But the London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat suggests that the international forces will now face an uphill task.

"The direct consequence of the assassination is to convince the former warlords even further that they need to keep their arms to preserve their lives, which will make the disarmament mission even more difficult," it says.

US role

The daily Iran News calls on the US to take a pivotal role in the search for Qadir's killers.

"It is hoped that Haji Qadir's assassination is not swept under the rug like previous such episodes."

The paper says that Washington should begin its probe with Pakistan, as Mr Qadir's friendship with Northern Alliance leader, the late Ahmad Shah Masood, "was of particular concern and source of annoyance" to the Pakistani intelligence services.

But if this proves to be case, the paper asks whether the US "really wants the truth to come out".

Donors

There is also a concern that the killing will discourage development efforts funded by foreign countries and donors.

Afghans have the necessary will to establish peace

Iranian radio

An Iranian radio commentary stresses the importance of foreign aid to achieve the reconstruction and development in the country.

It urges the international community not to forget the commitments made at the donor meetings in Bonn and Tokyo.

If these commitments are met, the commentary believes there is hope for the future.

It says that despite the obstacles, the people of Afghanistan have the "shown that they posses the necessary will and resolve to establish peace and stability in their country".

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.