Unknown armed men have gunned down a religious scholar in Kabul PD17 earlier this morning, Wednesday, March 03, Kabul police confirmed.
Mawlawi Mohammad Fayez was shot dead by unknown gunmen, Ferdaws Faramarz, the spokesperson for Kabul Police Chief told Kabul Now. He said the incident took place around 06:00 AM in Sarak-e-Jackshan of PD17. Faramarz noted that a joint security team was assigned to probe the assassination of the religious scholar.
The religious scholar was a lecturer at Darul Ulum Arabi in the capital Kabul and had previously worked as chief of Kunduz Ulema Council.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
In a statement, Jamiat Eslah Afghanistan has condemned the assassination of the religious scholar, describing it as a continuation of targeted killings. Pointing to the assassination of its former chief of leadership board, Mohammad Atif, the Jamiat Eslah called on the government to probe such incidents and introduce the perpetrators to the people.
It further noted that the murder of Mr. Atif, who was killed in a roadside bomb blast in PD4 of Kabul on February 02, 2021, has yet to be probed.
This comes, as First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, assured following Atif’s death that the government would arrest those who plotted the attack.
Afghanistan’s major cities, particularly the capital Kabul, have witnessed a huge increase in target killing of influential figures, religious scholars, and journalists in recent months.
In the latest wave of violence, three female journalists were shot dead in two separate attacks in Jalalabad, the capital city of the eastern Nangarhar province, yesterday, Tuesday, March 02.
