Balkh’s acting governor, Mawlavi Mohammad Yusuf Wafa said in a meeting on Thursday with district governors and police commanders that no security officers or Mujahid would be allowed to search houses while wearing plain clothes.

Wafa also discussed problems with the district governors and police chiefs of the province.

He said Balkh was an important province in Afghanistan, and that the recently slain governor, Shahid Mohammad Dawood Muzamil, had done a good job.

He urged the officials “to follow the seniors, fulfill their responsibilities correctly, and provide services to the people in an honest manner”.

Mawlavi Mohammad Dawood Muzamil, the governor of Balkh province, was killed in an explosion at the governor’s compound last Thursday.

Mawlawi Mohammad Dawood Muzamil, the governor of Balkh province, was killed in an explosion on Thursday, Zabiullah Mujaheed, IEA’s spokesman confirmed.

An explosion occurred in the governor’s office compound in northern Balkh province, killing him and two others, police said.

“Today around 9am a blast took place on the second floor of the governor’s office; due to the blast (governor) Mawlawi Mohammad Dawood Muzamil has been killed along with two civilians,” said Mohammed Asif Waziri, Balkh’s police spokesman.

He said police were investigating and would provide more details once they became clear.

Meanwhile, IEA’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujaheed said one civilian was also killed in the blast.

“With great regret, it was reported that the governor of Balkh, Mullah Mohammad Dawood Muzamil, was martyred by the enemies of Islam in an explosion with another civilian,” Mujaheed tweeted.

The cause of the blast was not immediately known. The incident marks one of the most senior officials confirmed dead since the IEA took over the country in 2021.

So far no group including Daesh claimed responsibility for the blast.

At least eight people were killed when a bus, carrying employees of an oil company, was bombed in northern Balkh province, police said on Tuesday.

“Today around 7 a.m. a road side mine blast took place in District 3 of Mazar-e-Sharif city on a bus, which belonged to Hairatan Oil employees,” said Mohammad Asif Wazeri, police spokesman for northern Balkh province, adding that at least nine people were also wounded in the explosion.

But the public health of Balkh province is talking about the increase of victims.

Najibullah Tawana, head of Balkh public health, says that eight people were killed and nine wounded have been taken to hospital after today’s explosion. One person is critical, he said.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast.

This comes after at least six people were wounded in an explosion on Saturday in Nangarhar’s Jalalabad city that also caused serious damage to shops and businesses in the area.

One of the shops damaged in this explosion was that of Gul Charan – the city’s only Sikh resident.

According to local officials, the incident is being investigated. 

The security officials of Jalalabad meanwhile say the explosion was caused by an IED embedded in a flowerpot.

The residents of the city have called on the Islamic Emirate to prevent such events in the future.

So far, no group or individual has claimed responsibility for the explosion.