Factbox: Reaction to death of Afghan president's brother

KABUL (Reuters) - Ahmad Wali Karzai, a brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and one of the most powerful but controversial men in southern Afghanistan, was shot dead at his home on Tuesday.

Here are some key quotes on his death:

AFGHAN PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI:

"My younger brother was martyred in his house today. This is the life of all Afghan people. I hope these miseries, which every Afghan family, faces will one day end."

MIRWAIS YASINI, AN AFGHAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FROM THE

EASTERN NANGARHAR PROVINCE:

"The killing of Ahmad Wali Karzai is a big loss to the Afghan people, especially to the people of Kandahar. He was an influential man, a bridge for bringing tribes together in harmony."

WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN JAY CARNEY:

Condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the killing of Ahmad Wali Karzai.

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON:

"The United States condemns this murder in the strongest terms. For too long, the people of Afghanistan have suffered under the threat of violence, intolerance, and extremism. We join President Karzai in his prayer for peace and stability in Afghanistan and remain committed to supporting the government and people of Afghanistan in their struggle for peace."

GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS, THE COMMANDER OF U.S. AND NATO

FORCES IN AFGHANISTAN:

"President Karzai is working to create a stronger, more secure Afghanistan, and for such a tragic event to happen to someone within his own family is unfathomable. I strongly condemn the actions by anyone who played a role in this murder. (The International Security Assistance Force) will support the Afghan government in every possible way to bring to justice those involved in the murder of Ahmad Wali Karzai."

HAROUN MIR, DIRECTOR OF AFGHANISTAN'S CENTER FOR RESEARCH

AND POLICY STUDIES:

"Ahmad Wali Karzai is irreplaceable in Kandahar. His death will leave a vacuum. Despite all the criticism, he was a stabilizing factor in Kandahar.

"Now Ahmad Wali Karzai is not there, others in Kandahar will be afraid. This is a real boost to the Taliban."

PAKISTANI AUTHOR AHMED RASHID, AN EXPERT ON THE TALIBAN:

"It's going to leave a very profound vacuum in the south because he was basically running the south for his brother.

"It's going to be a big vacuum for the West, in terms of who they are going to deal with, because none of the governors of the four southern provinces were as powerful as him. None of the officials in the south could replace him in any meaningful way."

MICHAEL O'HANLON, A SENIOR FELLOW IN FOREIGN POLICY AND

DEFENSE AT THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION:

"Some people considered AWK (Ahmad Wali Karzai) a major problem and will be hopeful this event, however sad at a human level, may open up new opportunities.

"Others will see it as just further proof that Afghanistan is mired in a rut of killing and assassination, or worry that with the big man gone, the competition for the spoils will intensify and further confuse and fracture the process."

A SENIOR WESTERN DIPLOMAT IN KABUL:

"I'm certain that the killing of AWK will have profound political consequences, but it is too early to assess this more concretely now. We need to know more about the underlying motives of the killing and which actors now will move in to fill the lacuna after AWK."

(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi, Jonathon Burch and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa and Paul Simao)