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IFJ reiterates calls to Afghan govt to safeguard the lives of journalists

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The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the killing of well-known Ghazni-based journalist Rahmatullah Nikzad, who was gunned down outside his home on Monday night. 
 
In a statement issued by the IFJ on Tuesday, the organization’s General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: “Afghanistan has descended again in terms of journalist safety in 2020 with at least eight media workers killed to date, up from six in 2019. 
 
“The IFJ again implores that the Afghan government must increase its efforts to ensure the safety of journalists in this volatile space. 
 
“Too often journalists are the target, often between internal conflicts and the quest for power. Journalists’ lives must be respected and defended,” Bellanger stated.
 
The IFJ’s Afghanistan affiliate the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA) also condemned “the heinous assassination” and caled for swift action to locate and bring the perpetrators to justice.
 
The AIJA said: “AIJA strongly condemns the killing and call it a crime against humanity. AIJA shares empathy with his family and urges the Security forces to investigate the killing and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
 
Nikzad, a reporter, photographer and chief of the Ghazni Journalists’ Union, was killed by unknown gunmen outside his home on Monday night. 
 
According to the IFJ, Nikzad was shot three times in the chest with a pistol fitted with a silencer as he left his home to visit a local mosque. 
 
The gunmen have not yet been identified and no group has claimed responsibility. 
 
Nikzad, who was in his mid-40s, was a Ghazni resident and started working as a journalist in 2003. 
 
He was associated with several international news outlets and worked on a freelance basis with Al Jazeera and Associated Press. 
 
Al Jazeera issued a statement on Twitter and strongly condemned the attack and attempts to silence journalists in the country and stated it was “shocked at the news of the killing of our cameraman Rahmatullah Nikzad, a former colleague who worked with our team in Afghanistan.”
 
The Taliban meanwhile were quick to distance themselves from the incident on Monday night. Soon after news broke of Nikzad’s death, Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban,  stated they were not involved in the shooting. 
 
Mujahid said Nikzad was a committed journalist and had “maintained good relations” with the group. “We consider this killing a loss for the country,” he said.
 
Nikzad is the third media worker to be killed in Afghanistan this month. On December 10, female reporter Malala Maiwand, and her driver Mohammad Tahir, were shot and killed when assailants opened fire on their car while she was on her way to work in Jalalabad, in Nangarhar province.
 
IS (Daesh) claimed responsibility for the attack. 
 
On November 12, Radio Free Europe correspondent Elias Daei was killed in a targeted magnetic mine explosion in Lashkar Gah.
 
However, the latest killing brings the total number of journalists killed in the past two months to five. 

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Afghan airstrike targets a military camp in South Waziristan

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Afghanistan’s Ministry of National Defense has announced that the country’s air force carried out an attack today (Sunday) on a military camp in Wana, the main town of South Waziristan, in retaliation for last night’s attacks on Kandahar.

Enayatullah Khwarizmi, the spokesperson for the ministry, said that the SSG’s (Special Service Group) building and other key facilities inside the camp were targeted in the strike.

He added that a large part of the command headquarters and other facilities of this important center were destroyed, and Pakistani soldiers suffered heavy human and material losses in the attack.

 

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Pakistan targeting civilian sites as Afghan forces capture military post in Khost

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Pakistan has come under renewed criticism after reportedly targeting a rehabilitation center for drug addicts in an airstrike in southern Afghanistan, while Afghan forces say they have seized a Pakistani military post in a retaliatory operation.

Local officials in Kandahar said a center for drug addicts was struck during recent Pakistani regime air raids in the province. Authorities confirmed that no casualties were reported in the incident.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense said Afghan security forces carried out retaliatory operations following the latest Pakistani airstrikes.

According to Sadeequllah Nasrat, Deputy Spokesperson for Strategic Communications and Information at the Ministry of Defense, Afghan defensive forces captured a Pakistani military position known as the “Janda Post” in Zazi Maidan district of Khost province along the Durand Line during the night.

Nasrat said the operation was part of ongoing retaliatory actions under the campaign known as “Rad al-Zulm,” describing it as a defensive response to what he called Pakistani aggression.

He also released a video showing Afghan forces taking control of the military post.

The developments come amid rising tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan following a series of cross strikes that have drawn criticism from regional figures and increased concerns over further escalation.

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China offers to mediate between Kabul and Islamabad

China’s special envoy for Afghanistan is actively shuttling between Kabul and Islamabad to encourage dialogue and reconciliation.

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Amid rising tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, China has stepped forward to mediate and prevent further escalation of the conflict.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed Beijing’s readiness to assist in resolving the tensions during a phone call with Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister.

China’s special envoy for Afghanistan is actively shuttling between Kabul and Islamabad to encourage dialogue and reconciliation.

The ministry’s statement emphasized: “China hopes both sides maintain calm, conduct face-to-face talks as soon as possible, establish a ceasefire, and resolve disputes through dialogue.”

Analysts, however, caution that while the mediation may help reduce short-term tensions, the conflict may persist unless Pakistan’s policy toward Afghanistan changes.

The Islamic Emirate has reiterated that it seeks no conflict with neighbors but reserves the right to defend Afghanistan’s territory.

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