Sources say that Nooruddin Islam-Jar, the Taliban governor of Herat, contacted the family of Abdul Qadir Pahlawanzada and claimed that the killing was personally motivated and should not have been attributed to the group.
Sources confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Monday, September 7, that the Taliban governor told Abdul Qadir’s family that the killing was carried out in retaliation for a murder that had occurred a year earlier.
The sources did not explain who had been killed a year ago, but said that the Taliban governor’s chief of staff is the maternal uncle of the person who shot Abdul Qadir.
The sources added that Abdul Qadir had no personal enemies and had never previously been summoned or detained by the Taliban on any charge.
Abdul Qadir Pahlawanzada was shot dead in public last Friday by the Taliban police commander in Pashtun Zarghun district and his associates while his hands were tied.
Citizens have described the incident as a “Taliban summary execution” and stressed that the group has no regard for the lives and property of the people.
