Targeted Killings are Attack on New Generation: Ghani
President Ashraf Ghani in a cabinet meeting on Monday said that the attacks on journalists and civil society activists are an attack on a generation and an attempt to destabilize the country and demoralize the new generation.
Five journalists and two civil society activists have been killed in various incidents since November 7.
“Recent terrorist attacks on media, civil society and political activists and other members of our citizenry are attacks on a generation and on all the values of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” Ghani said. “The motive (behind the attacks) is to remove stability, trust and to create help helplessness among the new generation, particularly women in Afghanistan.”
3 Senators Arrested for Accepting Bribes
Three members of Afghanistan’s Meshrano Jirga Mohammad Anwar Bashliq, Mohammad Azim Qoyash and Liyaqatullah Babakarkhil were arrested on charges of accepting $40,000 in bribe money from customs officials in Kunduz, the Attorney General’s Office said on Monday.
The arrest was made by the National Directorate of Security and the Attorney General’s Office, according to a statement.
“Three members of the Meshrano Jirga were arrested when accepting $40,000 as a bribe in a joint operation by the Attorney General’s Office and the National Directorate of Security, which was planned in response to intelligence reports. The issue is under investigation,” said Jamshid Rasuli, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office.
December 27, 2020
Afghanistan’s first vice president on Sunday denied Indian media reports on alleged Chinese militants being arrested in a security operation in Kabul.
Amrullah Saleh, who is a former intelligence chief, said in a statement that no foreign nationals, but a group of terrorists involved in a string of bomb blasts, abductions, and killings has been busted in the Kher Khana neighborhood of the capital.
Earlier this week, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported that 10 alleged Chinese citizens were detained by the National Directorate of Security on the charges of espionage and running a terror cell.
They are “believed to be linked to China’s spy agency, Ministry of State Security,” it said, claiming that “this was the first time in years that Chinese nationals have been caught spying in Afghanistan where the country was looking at rapidly expanding its influence even as the US withdraws its troops.”
Slain Activist Freshta Kohistani Laid to Rest December 27,2020
KAPISA - Women’s rights activist Freshta Kohistani and her brother, who were killed in an attack by unknown armed men on Thursday, were laid to rest in their hometown in Kapisa province on Friday. Their relatives blamed the government for failing to prevent targeted killings that have increased in recent weeks. Kohistani’s burial saw the saddest moments when her young and only son Mustafa was seen screaming on her coffin and chanting ‘I want my mother.’ “My mother was innocent,” Kohistani’s son said. “She was serving this nation but why she was martyred?”
3 Suspects Arrested in Yama Siawash Case: MoI
Security forces have arrested three suspects for involvement in the Nov. 7 blast that killed three people, including former TOLOnews anchor Yama Siawash, the interior minister Massoud Andarabi said in a meeting on Sunday.
The meeting was attended by members of the joint committee of the government and the media led by Second Vice President Sarwar Danesh, his office said in a statement.
Recent attacks on journalists and civil society activists were discussed and security agencies reported on their actions for the incidents.
Danesh said the recent incidents have been shocking for the people in which known figures were targeted.