On Thursday, a day after the Taliban warned against “biased reporting” by the media, a high-profile Afghan television journalist was shot dead, officials said. Kandahar city police spokesman Jamal Nasir Barekzai told AFP, Nemat Rawan was a host of a popular talk show with the country´s leading broadcaster Tolo News, before joining the ministry of finance as a communications specialist until last month. He was “assassinated by unknown gunmen”. Lotfullah Najafizada, head of Tolo News, posted on Twitter “Heartbreaking to hear that a friend and former colleague Nemat Rawan was shot dead in Kandahar city today”.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack but in recent months, the Taliban has been blamed for a wave of assassinations targeting journalists. On Wednesday, a Taliban spokesman warned that media workers who carry out “biased reporting” would be “held responsible”. On Thursday Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the country´s peace council condemned the Taliban´s threat against the media and “any attempts to silence Afghan journalists”. Afghanistan´s educated class members including journalists, activists, and judges have for months been the target of bombings and shootings, forcing many to go into hiding or leave the country.
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