Kabul (BNA) Nemat Rawan, former TOLOnews anchor and a media official at the Ministry of Finance, was assassinated in an attack by unidentified gunmen in Kandahar on Thursday, his relatives confirmed.
The incident occurred about 10:30 am local time at Ahmad Wali Khan square in PD14 of Kandahar city. Attackers shot and assassinated Rawan in his Toyota Corolla, said Ghorzang Afridi, a security official at the Kandahar police HQ, adding that “the attackers were two people and escaped from the area.”
“The first one of the attackers stopped his car and the second one came on a motorbike and shot him,” he said. “The attackers have also stolen his phone.” The Taliban has denied their involvement in the attack.
The Presidential Palace in a statement condemned the killing of Rawan and denounced the continuation of the war as against Islamic principles. The Palace described the killing as an act of terrorism.
The Presidential Palace said that continuation of violence by the Taliban and the continuation of fighting will further complicate the crisis.
The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee called on the UN and the Afghan government to ensure the security of journalists and media workers. “AJSC strongly condemns the assassination of a former presenter, Nemat Rawan. Mr. Rawan newly started his work as a public servant with the Ministry of Finance. We call on the government to seriously investigate the case so perpetrators are brought to justice,” the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee said.
Rawan’s work with TOLOnews finished about three weeks ago after he resigned from his position and joined the Ministry of Finance as a media official. Nemat, 28, worked with TOLOnews for four years and presented political shows.
