KABUL (Pajhwok): Interior Minister Masoud Andarabi on Monday said six suspects belonging to Taliban and Daesh groups had been arrested in Kabul and provinces in connection with killing of journalists.
He told this in a joint meeting of government and media representatives chaired by Second Vice President Sarwar Danish and attended by Attorney General Office, deputy interior minister and deputy spymaster, members of journalist unions.
A statement from the second Vice President Office said the meeting discussed recent terrorist attacks that left a number of journalists, civil society and rights activists dead.
Vice President Danish said recent attacks and incidents were shocking for the entire nation in which renowned personalities from media, civil society and rights bodies lost their lives.
Danish raised questions about identification of perpetrators behind the attacks on Yama Syawash, Da Afghanistan Bank Advisor and journalist Elyas Dayee, Radio Free reporter in Helmand, Malalay Maiwand, Enakas Radio newscaster, Rahmatullah Naikzad, the Associated Press reporter, FardinAmini, the Aryana Television reporter, Yousuf Rashid, FEFA executive director and Fereshta Kohistani, civil society and rights activist.
Danish asked what steps security organs took following these incidents to prevent similar attacks in futures.
He also raised question regarding the handing over of some suspects arrested in connection to such incident to the Attorney General Office for further investigation.
Interior Minister Masoud Andarabi said the enemy after tasting defeat on the battlefield had now turned to soft targets.
Referring to the killing of Yama Seawash, Andarabi said an investigation into the incident was underway jointly with National Directorate of Security and that three suspects had been arrested in this connection so far.
He said meetings had been held with family members of Seawash and some media persons as part of investigations into their killings.
He said one person had been arrested in connection with Elyas Dayee’s murder and a Taliban insurgent involved in the assassination of Ghazni journalist, Rahmatullah Nikzad, had been identified but not arrested.
Investigations about the murder of Fardin Amini were also underway and two people had been arrested in connection with the murder of Fareshta Kohistani, he said, adding that there was still no information about the assassination of Yousuf Rashid but his case was being probed.
Andarabi said two people had been detained in connection with the murder of Malalai Maiwand.
The MoI has appointed special investigative teams for these gases and has directed all police offices in the country to cooperate in security for media, civil society and human rights’ institutes, he added.
The statement said officials during the meeting also said three people had been arrested in connection with Yama Seyawash’s assassination but investigations in the case remained unfinished.
“The person accused of Elyas Dayee’s murder is a Taliban member for urban fronts and the suspect arrested over Malala Maiwand’s assassination is a Daesh insurgent”, the source said.
General Directorate of Security officials said the Taliban were involved in the murder of Rahmatullah Nikzad and Fareshta Kohistani but no clue could be found about Yousuf Rashid’s murder.
Afghan security forces had arrested 15 insurgents involved in targeted killings and attacking soft targets in recent few days, the source said.
Attorney General Farid Hamidi, talking to the meeting, said that addressing the cases of journalists’ murder and violence against them was a priority of his office and a specific committee had been tasked to follow these cases.
All cases referred to the Attorney General Office (AGO) by other relevant organs were processed and no case was pending in the office, he said.
Members of Afghanistan Journalists Federation and Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSF) shared their concerns about threats to media workers and some questions regarding the murder of journalists with the interior minister.
Second VP Sarwar Danish directed the MoI to prepare a strategy for security of media and journalists. He said the government supported freedom of expression, human rights and civil society activists.
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