Senior Afghan Taliban leader killed in Peshawar

Taliban spokesperson says no group has claimed responsibility for the assassination so far

Tahir Khan June 15, 2015

PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: Senior Afghan Taliban leader, Maulvi Mir Ahmad Gul Hashmi, was shot dead in Peshawar on Monday, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

Hashmi, the Taliban shadow governor for Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province was critically injured during firing in Peshawar, and later succumbed to his injuries, the spokesperson said.

Read: Senior Afghan Taliban leader killed in Quetta, buried in Afghanistan

The Taliban leader had been vigorously involved in organising the movement in Nangarhar province, close to Pakistan's border.

The spokesperson upheld that no group had claimed responsibility for the assassination so far. However, the Taliban routinely blame Afghan intelligence officers for such killings.

Several Taliban leaders have been killed in different parts of Pakistan. Last year, a former Taliban minister Abdul Raqeeb was killed in Peshawar.

Read: Targeted attack in Peshawar: Ex-Afghan Taliban minister gunned down

"We announce with great pain that a senior Jihadi figure, a senior leader and in-charge of Nangahar province Mir Ahmad Gul Hashmi, who was living as a refugee, has been killed by the enemies of Islam," Zabihullah Mujahid said in his statement.

Although, the spokesperson did not mention the place where Maulvi Gul had come under attack, a Taliban source told The Express Tribune that he was killed in Peshawar.

"We consider the martyrdom of Maulvi Ahmad Gul as a big loss for the Muslims and especially for the Jihadi nation," Mujahid said.

COMMENTS (6)

atherkhanturi | 8 years ago | Reply how he was living in peshwar pakistan? ans: like 1.5 million other afghan refugees who live in pakistan and often cross border without permit. but if afghan intelligence have killed him, it is certainly a good news. i will be happy to see afghan intelligence taking out the leaders of terrorist movements one by one. they have means to protect their country, they should certainly do that. why not they kill fazlullah? ans: why will they? as long as fazlullah don't attack afghanistan. mullah omor don't attack pakistan. so we don't kill him. if our intelligence is good enough we should do the same and take down fazlullah in afghanistan silently instead of waging never ending war in tribal areas.

Sandip | 8 years ago | Reply The moment Afghans start eliminating these taliban characters, all the insurgency will die its natural death. How can 30-40,000 monsters, even with all the help from pakistan, ever dream of controlling the lives of millions of Afghans if the Afghans decide to hit back.