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Afghanistan's former King, Mohammad Zahir Shah, whose 40-year reign coincided with one of the most peaceful periods in the country's history, died on Monday aged 92.
President Hamid Karzai i described Zahir Shah as the founder of Afghan democracy and a symbol of national unity. Zahir Shah ruled Afghanistan from 1933 until he was deposed by his cousin in 1973. Zahir Shah came from a long line of ethnic Pashtun rulers and was the last of a dynasty established in 1747.
