A TV presenter and her driver are shot dead

Afghan journalist Malala Maiwand and her driver were shot dead on Thursday by unknown gunmen in Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan, in a new targeted attack in the country against journalists.

The shooting took place this morning around 07.10 local time (02.40 GMT), in the city of Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar, when the journalist moved from her home to her office, the spokesman for the provincial governor, Attaullah Khogyanai, told Efe

Malala Maiwand, who worked as a presenter on the local television channel Enakas plus played an active role in the community as a civil society activistHe “was shot and killed along with her driver,” the spokesperson said.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the murder of the journalist and her driver while calling on the authorities for an investigation into the “terrorist” attack.

“The attacks on our journalists are an inhuman and unforgivable crime,” Ghani said in a statement in which he promised that the government will do everything possible to “protect” and “promote” freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

No armed group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

This is the latest in a series of targeted killings committed in the country against prominent civil society figures.

Attacks on journalists, religious, human rights defenders, and students have been increasing for a year, coinciding first with the agreement signed in February between the United States and the Taliban, and since September with the direct dialogue of the insurgents with the Government of Kabul in Doha.

A dozen diplomatic missions in Afghanistan, including those of the European Union, the United States and NATO, condemned last Monday, through a joint statement, this wave of assassinations that seek to silence the diversity of opinions in the country.

KILLINGS OF JOURNALISTS

Afghanistan It is also considered one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, and is ranked 122 out of 180 in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2020 world press freedom rankings.

Just last month, Afghan journalists Elyas Dayee of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and prominent television host Yama Syawash, who was linked to the popular private channel Tolo, were killed in two limpet bomb attacks planted in their vehicles.

Threats to the media from both the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and the Taliban have been repeated in the almost two decades of conflict in Afghanistan, perpetrating numerous attacks against the press, one of the worst in January 2016 also against Tolo, in which seven workers died.

In 2018, in the deadliest year for the press in the country, 20 journalists and media workers were killed and another 20 injured in incidents related to the exercise of their profession. EFE

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