Former Senior Security Officer Killed in Mazar-e-Sharif City

On Thursday, Faiz Askaryar, former deputy commander of the Police District 8 of Mazar-e-Shairf city, was killed by armed men in the Karte Sulh area of the city.

His relatives told Afghanistan International that Askaryar "had no animosity with anyone”.

According to them, he was killed at his residence.

Askaryar’s relatives said that he had received a "certificate of amnesty" from the Taliban.

Taliban officials in Balkh have not reacted to the killing of this former police officer.

Since the Taliban’s takeover of power in Afghanistan, hundreds of former security forces members have been killed either by the Taliban or mysteriously by unknown gunmen.

International organisations have repeatedly expressed concern over the killing of former security forces of Afghanistan.

Earlier in a report, the United Nations stated that despite the general amnesty of the Taliban, during the past two years, 800 cases of human rights violations against former security forces have been recorded.

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that there have been at least 218 recorded cases of government officials and former security forces members killed by unidentified perpetrators, with no arrests made in connection with these incidents.

This organisation said that it has recorded cases of human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, and ill-treatment in 34 provinces of Afghanistan.