KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A tribal elder and a driver were found dead in Laghman and Takhar provinces on Friday, amid a rising number of mysterious killings across the country.
The tribal elder, identified by local sources as Abdul Ghafor, was killed by unknown individuals near his home in eastern Laghman province early on Friday, November 8.
In a similar incident, the body of a man named Jan Mohammad was found hanging in the yard of a private school in northeastern Takhar province, according to local sources.
Sources said that Jan Mohammad, who worked as a driver for the private school, went to the school on Thursday night after receiving a phone call from unknown individuals. However, his body was found hanging in a container inside the school the following day.
The motive behind these incidents remains unclear, and the local Taliban authorities have yet to comment.
These incidents add to the growing wave of mysterious killings and criminal activities across Afghanistan in recent years. The country’s citizens are increasingly concerned about their safety and security, adding to the challenges they have faced since the Taliban’s takeover.
In its August report, Rawadari, a London-based human rights organization, documented at least 239 cases of mysterious, extrajudicial, and targeted killings, including those of women and children, across Afghanistan over a six-month period.
According to the report, the victims include former government officials, their family members, human rights advocates, tribal elders, and opponents of the Taliban regime.
The rights group said that the actual number could be much higher, as it was unable to document all cases due to the Taliban’s creation of an atmosphere of fear and pressure on victims’ families to keep such information hidden.
