Newat Rawan was “assassinated by unknown gunmen”, Kandahar city police spokesman Jamal Nasir Barekzai said.
He was a popular talk show host with the country’s leading broadcaster, Tolo News, before joining the ministry of finance last month as a communications specialist.
“Heartbreaking to hear that a friend and former colleague Nemat Rawan was shot dead in Kandahar city today,” Lotfullah Najafizada, head of Tolo News, posted on Twitter.
The Taliban, blamed for a wave of assassinations of journalists in recent months, denied they were behind his murder.
“The assassination of Nemat Rawan. is not linked to the Islamic Emirate,” Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said on Twitter, referring to the group by its name from their rule in the 1990s.
Afghan journalist killed after Taliban warning
Top Story
May 7, 2021
KANDAHAR: A high-profile Afghan television journalist was shot dead in here Thursday, officials said, a day after the Taliban warned against biased reporting by the media.
Nemat Rawan was until last month a popular talk show host with the country´s leading broadcaster Tolo News, before joining the ministry of finance as a communications specialist. He was assassinated by unknown gunmen , Kandahar city police spokesman Jamal Nasir Barekzai told AFP. Heartbreaking to hear that a friend and former colleague Nemat Rawan was shot dead in Kandahar city today, Lotfullah Najafizada, head of Tolo News, posted on Twitter. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have been blamed for a wave of assassinations targeting journalists in recent months.
Campaign of violence against Afghan media is despicable
ANI
07 May 2021, 12:55 GMT+10
Kabul [Afghanistan], May 7 (ANI): US Charge d Affaires to Afghanistan Ross Wilson has expressed shock over the murder of high-profile Afghan journalist Nemat Rewan and called for an immediate stop to the attacks on the press. Shocked by the murder of @afghanistan of employeeformer @TOLOnews anchor Nemat Rewan. The campaign of violence against Afghan media is despicable. We condemn this attack and call for an immediate stop to the attacks on the press. Our condolences to Nemat s family and friends, Wilson tweeted.
Nemat Rewan was shot dead in Afghanistan s Kandahar city on Thursday, a day after the Taliban issued a threat against the media persons.
Afghanistan: Taliban Declares Open Season on Journalists, One Dead
7 May 2021
“Unidentified gunmen” killed a prominent Afghan journalist on Thursday following a declaration by the Taliban that it would soon begin targeting members of the media with which it has disagreements.
The Taliban claimed not to be involved in the death of former Tolo News anchor Nemat Rawan, who at the time of his death was working for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance. Rawan had previously worked for Tolo News’ Pashto language service and hosted a political debate show called
Tawde Khabare (“Hot Topics”). The Taliban does not consider the government of Afghanistan legitimate, but rather a group “usurping” its own power. Rawan’s role as a government official may have made him a target.