Mena Mangal, a former journalist and cultural adviser to Afghanistan’s Lower House of Parliament, was shot dead on Saturday morning, ToloNews reported. Unidentified attackers shot her in broad daylight in Kabul, days after she had claimed that she had received threats.
Interior Ministry spokesperson Nasrat Rahimi said that the incident occurred in eastern Kabul and that an investigation was under way.
No on has claimed responsibility for her death yet and authorities have not declared what could have been the motive for the killing, AFP reported.
The news channel said Mangal had had stints as a news presenter for three local TV networks in Kabul, including LEMAR TV, Shamshad News, Ariana TV.
Reporters Without Borders has said that 2018 was the deadliest year for journalists in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, with a total of 15 reporters and media workers being killed that year.
Political analyst Mariam Wardak said that Mangal’s killing is an “absolute dishonour” to the country’s police, intelligence services and national security council. Wardak called on female leaders to use their positions of power to “bring awareness and protection for women”.
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