Deputy Governor of Afghanistan’s Kunar province abducted from Peshawar

The Deputy Governor of Afghanistan’s Kunar province Qazi Muhammad Nabi Ahmadi has reportedly been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in Peshawar on October 27 – a day after he arrived in the city for an appointment with a doctor, local police and an Afghan diplomat confirmed.

A member of the Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) media office, Fazal Ghani, said Qazi Ahmadi was an active member of the HIA. He said Ahmadi traveled to Peshawar for treatment where was abducted by unknown men in Dabgari area.

It’s pertinent to mention here that after the HIA’s joining of the peace process, many of the group’s members have been killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The slain HIA members included Gulbadin Hekmatyar’s secretary who was also Hekmatyar son’s father-in-law. He was killed by unknown men in Peshawar.

In February 2016, a former governor of Kunar, Sayed Fazalullah Wahidi, was kidnapped from Islamabad’s Jinnah Super Market by unidentified gunmen.

Wahidi, a close friend of former Afghan president Hamid Karzai had also served as governor of western Herat province, was recovered near Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa two weeks later.

Previous History

Afghan media reported that governor Nabi belonged to Hizb-e-Islami (Hekmatyar group) which last year struck a peace deal with President Ashraf Ghani’s government.

In May this year, Haji Farid, a leader of Hizb-e-Islami was shot dead in Peshawar by unidentified gunmen. In April this year, unidentified gunmen assassinated Maulvi Daud – a former Taliban governor for Kabul – near Shamshato refugees’ camp in the outskirts of Peshawar. Daud’s driver was also killed in the attack.

In June 2015, Maulvi Mir Ahmad Gul Hashmi, a Taliban shadow governor for eastern Nangarhar province, was killed in Peshawar.

A former Taliban minister, Abdul Raqeeb, was also killed in Peshawar in February 2014, apparently for joining the peace process with the Kabul government.