RASC News Agency: Sources report that the body of Ali Jan Hassan Nezhad, head of statistics for the Taliban’s Department of Statistics and Information in Daykundi province, was found hanged in his home. Hassan-Nezhad’s daughter asserts that her father was “mysteriously” murdered.
According to local sources, Hassan Nezhad’s home is in the village of Kariz Nowjoy in Nili, the capital of Daykundi province. Neighbors discovered his body hanging in his garage on the afternoon of Saturday, June 1. Najiba Hassan Nezhad, Ali Jan Hassan Nezhad’s daughter, told the media that her family was informed on Saturday afternoon that her father was ill.
Hassan-Nezhad’s wife and children reside in the district village. Najiba stated that when her mother arrived in Nili, the Taliban had already transferred her father’s body to the hospital, claiming he had committed suicide. Ghulami Javid, a spokesperson for the Taliban’s governor in Daykundi, also told the media that Ali Jan Hassan Nezhad had committed suicide. Najiba, however, insists her father had no motive to take his own life.
She believes her father was “mysteriously murdered” and demands an investigation into his “murder.” Najiba added that her father had recently planned to resign from his position and was seeking a visa to Tajikistan. She mentioned that in his last conversations, her father spoke of “insecurity” at his workplace.
When asked who might be responsible for her father’s death, she said her father had no enemies and claimed that the suicide allegation was a “conspiracy and fabrication” by the Taliban. Najiba noted that her father’s mobile phone is currently in the possession of the Taliban. Sources indicate that the Taliban had previously arrested and imprisoned Ali Jan Hassan Nezhad twice, with the most recent detention lasting a month before he was released on bail.
Ali Jan Hassan Nezhad had worked in the Daykundi Department of Statistics and Information for many years and continued his work after the Taliban took power. His relatives say he intended to leave Afghanistan after the fall of the government but was unable to do so due to his documents being held in the office and his lack of a passport.
