Ex-Afghan MP Mursal Nabizada, Her Bodyguard Shot Dead in Kabul

By Staff, Agencies

Unidentified assailants gunned down former Afghan MP Mursal Nabizada and one of her bodyguards at her Kabul residence on Saturday, police said.

Mursal Nabizada was among the few female parliamentarians who stayed in Kabul after the Taliban seized power in August 2021. It is the first time an MP from the previous administration has been killed in the city since the takeover.

Nabizada and her guard were shot dead around 3 am on Saturday in the same room, local police chief Molvi Hamidullah Khalid was quoted by AFP as saying.

He said her brother and a second security guard were injured. A third security guard fled the scene with money and jewelry.

The former lawmaker died on the first floor of her home, which she used as her office. Khalid said investigations were underway. He did not answer questions about possible motives.

“Nabizada, along with one of her bodyguards, was shot dead at her house," Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said.

“The security forces have started an investigation into the incident," he said, adding that a brother of the former lawmaker was also wounded in the attack, which took place during the night between Saturday and Sunday.

Nabizada was a “fearless champion for Afghanistan", former lawmaker Mariam Solaimankhil said on Twitter.

“A true trailblazer – strong, outspoken woman who stood for what she believed in, even in the face of danger," she wrote.

“Despite being offered the chance to leave Afghanistan, she chose to stay and fight for her people," she added.

Abdullah Abdullah, who was a top official in Afghanistan’s former western-backed government, said he was saddened by Nabizada’s death and hoped the perpetrators would be punished. He described her as a “representative and servant of the people”.

The former Kandahar parliamentarian Malalai Ishaqzai also offered her condolences.

Nabizada, 32, hailed from the eastern province of Nangarhar and was elected in 2019 to represent Kabul and stayed in office until the Taliban takeover. She was a member of the parliamentary defense commission and worked at a private non-governmental group, the Institute for Human Resources Development and Research.