RASC News Agency: Local sources in Afghanistan report that Colonel Rahimdel Hanafi, a former bodyguard of Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, the ousted president of Afghanistan, has died by suicide in Kabul. According to confirmed reports, the former military officer hanged himself on the evening of Sunday, December 15, in the Qol-e Abchakan area of the city, bringing his life to an end. Sources reveal that the Taliban had been actively pursuing Colonel Hanafi for ten days, conducting multiple raids on his residence in an attempt to arrest him. Despite four unsuccessful searches, they returned four days ago, stormed his home again, and detained his wife, transferring her to an undisclosed location.
After the collapse of the former Afghanistan government, Hanafi fled to Iran. However, he returned to Afghanistan last year under the guarantees of Qudratullah Amini, the former Taliban-appointed governor of Panjshir, and Nuruddin Azizi, the Taliban’s Minister of Commerce. Originally a resident of Parandi Valley in Panjshir’s Bazarak district, Hanafi had been living in Kabul since his return. The Taliban have not yet issued a statement regarding the incident. This suicide is not an isolated case. Earlier this month, another former military officer succumbed to persistent threats and pressure from the Taliban. Known as Fawad, the officer, who had served in the army under the previous government, took his own life by gunshot in Kabul’s Chehel sutun neighborhood.
The Taliban’s targeted persecution of Tajik security personnel in Kabul starkly contrasts with their treatment of former officials from Ashraf Ghani’s administration. These include senior military officers, provincial governors, ministers, and even high-profile figures such as Ghani’s brother and his chief of staff. Many of these individuals not only live openly in Kabul but also actively collaborate with the Taliban, advising on ethnic policies and governance strategies. Meanwhile, Tajik soldiers face relentless harassment, with the Taliban pursuing them from door to door and street to street in an apparent campaign of ethnic targeting.
