KANDAHAR: Nemat Rawan, a former Afghan television journalist, was shot dead in southern Kandahar city on Thursday, officials said, becoming the fifth journalist to have been killed this year.
Rawan hosted a popular talk show on the country’s leading broadcaster, Tolo News, before joining the ministry of finance as a communications specialist last month. He was “assassinated by unknown gunmen”, Kandahar city police spokesman Jamal Nasir Barekzai said.
“Heartbreaking to hear that a friend and former colleague Nemat Rawan was shot dead in Kandahar city today (Thursday),” Lotfullah Najafizada, head of Tolo News, posted on Twitter.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have been blamed for a wave of assassinations targeting journalists in recent months.
On Wednesday, a Taliban spokesman warned that media workers who carry out “biased reporting” would be “held responsible”. Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the country’s peace council, on Thursday condemned the Taliban’s threat against the media.–Agencies
