Local sources in Herat say that those responsible for the killing of Abdul Qadir Pahlawanzada, a 30-year-old man, have not been arrested and continue to move freely and carry on with their duties.
The sources told the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Monday, September 7, that claims about the arrest of the Taliban’s police commander in Pashtun Zarghun district and others involved in the killing are untrue.
Earlier, some media outlets affiliated with the Taliban’s intelligence agency had reported that those involved in the killing had been arrested. However, local sources have rejected the claim.
According to the sources, around 100 tribal elders went to the Taliban governor’s office in Herat on Saturday to follow up on the case, but the governor did not allow them to speak and expelled them all from his office.
The sources say that the Taliban governor’s chief of staff in Herat is a close associate of a person who carried out the killing.
Abdul Qadir was shot dead last Friday in the fourth police district of Herat city after allegedly being tortured and having his hands tied.
Video footage obtained by Hasht-e Subh Daily also shows a young man being shot after being tortured and having his hands tied.
The sources say that the Taliban’s police commander in Pashtun Zarghun, along with his brother-in-law and brother, were present during the incident.
