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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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IEA condemns Pakistan’s airstrikes in several Afghan provinces

In a statement released on Friday, Mujahid said the strikes took place in multiple locations, including Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia and Paktika provinces, as well as other areas.

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Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), has strongly condemned recent airstrikes that he says were carried out by Pakistan Armed Forces in several provinces of Afghanistan, describing the attacks as a “clear act of aggression” that caused civilian casualties.

In a statement released on Friday, Mujahid said the strikes took place in multiple locations, including Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia and Paktika provinces, as well as other areas.

According to the spokesman, some of the airstrikes struck residential houses, resulting in the deaths of civilians, including women and children. Other strikes reportedly hit areas that were uninhabited.

Mujahid said the timing of the attacks — during the final days of the holy month of Ramadan and on the eve of Eid al-Fitr — showed that those responsible “do not adhere to humanitarian principles or moral values.”

“The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this crime and clear aggression in the strongest terms, and this cruelty will not go unanswered,” Mujahid said.

He also claimed that one of the airstrikes targeted a fuel storage facility belonging to Kam Air near Kandahar International Airport. According to Mujahid, the facility supplied fuel to civilian airlines as well as aircraft operated by the United Nations.

Mujahid further alleged that in a previous similar incident, another fuel depot owned by an Afghan trader, Haji Khanzada, was also targeted.

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Herat governor urges UN to prioritize Afghan domestic products in food purchases

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Noor Ahmad Islamjar, the governor of Herat, has urged the United Nations to give priority to domestic Afghan products when procuring food and essential goods.

According to a statement from the Herat governor’s office, Islamjar met with Indrika Ratwatte, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan, and Arafat Jamal, Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Afghanistan.

During the meeting, the governor praised the UN’s cooperation and described the support provided during the first wave of returning migrants as a significant success. He emphasized that the local administration is fully prepared to address the needs of any potential new wave of migrants.

Islamjar also stressed the importance of international support in expanding foreign markets for Afghan agricultural and industrial products, and called for easing banking restrictions, facilitating visa issuance, and improving online services for the private sector and local traders.

In response, Indrika Ratwatte welcomed the governor’s proposals and assured that the UN would strive to source necessary goods from Afghan domestic products in the future, while continuing its cooperation with the local administration across various sectors.

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Four civilians killed in Khost overnight in Pakistani military attacks

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Hamdullah Fetrat, Deputy Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, reported on Thursday that four civilians were killed overnight in Khost province during artillery and mortar shelling by the Pakistani military.

The attacks occurred around 4:00 a.m. in Alishir-Trezi district.

The victims were members of a nomadic family, including a man, a woman, and two children. Three additional children were injured in the strikes.

The Pakistani military also carried out attacks in Kunar province last night. While no casualties were reported there, several homes and private properties were damaged.

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