Police: Ex-Afghan female lawmaker, guard shot dead at home

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A former Afghan female lawmaker and her bodyguard have been shot dead by unknown assailants at her home in the capital, Kabul, police said Sunday.

Mursal Nabizada was among the few female parliamentarians who stayed in Kabul after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

It is the first time a lawmaker from the previous administration has been killed in the city since the takeover.

Local police chief Molvi Hamidullah Khalid said Nabizada and her guard were shot dead around 3 a.m. Saturday in the same room.

He said her brother and a second security guard were injured. A third security guard fled the scene with money and jewelry.

She died on the first floor of her home, which she used as her office. Khalid said investigations are underway. He did not answer questions about possible motives.

Abdullah Abdullah, who was a top official in Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government, said he was saddened by Nabizada’s death and hoped the perpetrators would be punished. He described her as a “representative and servant of the people.”

A former Kandahar parliamentarian, Malalai Ishaqzai, also offered her condolences.

Nabizada was elected in 2019 to represent Kabul and stayed in office until the Taliban takeover.

She was a member of the parliamentary defense commission and worked at a private non-governmental group, the Institute for Human Resources Development and Research.