RASC News Agency: Local sources from Helmand province report the assassination of a former National Security officer by unidentified gunmen in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. This incident marks the latest in a series of targeted killings and arrests of former military personnel. On Saturday, August 10, sources informed the media that the victim, Abdul Zahir, was killed the previous night in the “Kariz” area near Lashkar Gah by unknown assailants.
According to these sources, Abdul Zahir had served as a military commander in the National Security Directorate during the previous government. However, following the Taliban’s takeover, he was rendered jobless and confined to his home. Taliban officials in Helmand have yet to comment on the assassination of this former officer. Since their return to power, the Taliban have faced widespread accusations of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and torture targeting former military personnel and officials from the previous administration.
In its most recent report, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated that the Taliban continues to perpetrate such killings and detentions. Previous reports indicated that over 80 individuals have died in Taliban prisons due to torture, with former military personnel constituting the majority of those detained.
Additionally, many former military officers who fled to neighboring countries, particularly Iran and Pakistan, following the Taliban’s resurgence, have been detained upon their forced repatriation to Afghanistan.
