KABUL, Afghanistan — A former Afghan lawmaker and her bodyguard were shot dead by unknown assailants at their home in the capital Kabul, police said Sunday.
Mursal Nabizada was one of the few MPs to stay in Kabul after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
It is the first time that a legislator from the previous administration has been assassinated in the city since the inauguration.
Local police chief Molvi Hamidullah Khalid said Nabizada and his guard were shot dead around 3 a.m. Saturday in the same room.
He said his brother and a second security guard were injured. A third security guard fled the scene with money and jewelry.
He died on the first floor of his house, which he used as an office. Khalid said investigations are underway. He did not answer questions about possible motives.
Abdullah Abdullah, who was a senior official in Afghanistan’s previous 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.»
A former Kandahar MP, Malalai Ishaqzai, also offered her condolences.
Nabizada was elected in 2019 to represent Kabul and remained in office until the Taliban took power.
He was a member of the parliamentary defense commission and worked in a private non-governmental group, the Institute for Human Resources Research and Development.
