US strongly condemns killing of Najia Siddiqi, Afghan women's affairs director

Submitted by beoowzao on Sun, 2012-12-30 03:25

The assassination of a senior Afghan women's affairs official in Laghman province Monday has been strongly condemned by the US Embassy in Kabul, especially as it took place on “Human Rights Day.”

A press release from the American embassy stated: “The US Embassy strongly condemns the assassination of the Director of Provincial Women's Affairs, Najia Siddiqi, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Mehtarlam in eastern Laghman province Monday morning.”

The statement particularly deplored the attack as having taken place “especially on Human Rights Day, shows that those who killed Ms. Siddiqi have no respect for human rights or the safety of the Afghan people.” The release went on to laud her for being a brave woman, saluting her for “unwavering dedication to women’s rights.”

Najia Siddiqi was gunned down in eastern Lagham province Monday at 8:30 a.m. by two unidentified men while traveling in a motorized rickshaw. She had taken over from her late predecessor, Hanifa Safi, provincial women's affairs director who had been blown up in an explosion caused by a magnetic bomb attached to her vehicle in July.

The US press release said Siddiqi’s efforts are specifically recalled, as today poignantly marks the conclusion of the 16 days campaign for the “Elimination of Violence Against Women.” It went on to promise to stand by the people of Afghan and its govt. in “pursuit of a stable, prosperous, and democratic Afghanistan where human rights are respected.”

Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from Kabul, said: "Siddiqi was travelling from home to her office in a rickshaw in the provincial capital of Laghman province." According to Smith, it’s quite possible Siddiqi took this kind of ordinary vehicle hoping to keep a low profile but unfortunately for her, “the gunmen were able to identify her,” he added.

Ahmad Sherzad, Laghman province’s police chief told AFP news agency that his team had launched a probe and “we have sealed off the area where the attack took place and we will very soon capture the attackers."

Smith opines any official in Afghan government is a target for the Taliban, with women by the very fact that they are in a post are a “high profile target” and hence very “vulnerable to attacks.” As of now no one group has claimed responsibility for Monday's attack.

Meanwhile, in a separate attack a police chief was killed in a roadside bombing in Herat province. General Mohammad Musa Rasoli, the provincial police chief of Nimroz, was killed when his vehicle was struck by a bomb in Herat’s Adraskan district.

Reportedly Rasoli was heading toward Nimroz en route to work when the incident took place. He was seriously wounded in the blast and rushed to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.