Foreign
A high-ranking Education Ministry employee known for his work as a peace activist and researcher was on Wednesday killed in a bomb blast in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
A ministry spokeswoman told dpa that the Director of the Scientific Council, AbdulBaqi Amin, was killed by an explosive device that was placed in his car, adding that the driver of the vehicle was wounded.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Many Afghans expressed their sorrow on social media, saying Amin had been targeted because of his advocacy work.
Former Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, Omar Zakhilwal, said that peace has a price and Amin paid the price today.
Bombings and attacks continue with frequency in Afghanistan even as the government and Taliban militants are planning peace talks to end decades of conflict.
In recent times, a controversy has erupted over the release of Taliban fighters classified as particularly dangerous, a major demand by the militants before they agree to any peace talks.
However, there was still no date for the commencement of the talks.
On Friday, Fawzia Koofi, a member of the government negotiating team, was wounded in an assassination attempt in northern Kabul. Koofi is one of four women in the 21-member Kabul delegation for the planned talks.
There have been targeted attacks on rights activists and religious scholars in recent months. Experts see this as an attempt to intimidate and weaken Afghanistan’s civil society before the talks.
The U.S. signed a peace agreement with the Taliban in February that paves the way for the withdrawal of all international troops from the country in return for the Taliban’s security guarantees.
It also paves the way for an exchange of prisoners and direct peace talks between the militants and the government in Kabul. (dpa/NAN)
– Aug. 19, 2020 @ 13:35 GMT |
Tags: Bombing in Afghan capital kills well-known peace advocate
