Afghan provincial intelligence chief killed in road accident

A provincial intelligence chief was killed in a traffic accident in Afghanistan, an official said on Thursday.

Maulvi Ulfat Hashimi was killed in a road accident on Wednesday night in eastern Laghman province, the provincial governor’s office said.

Hashimi was chief of the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) for the province under the Taliban-led interim government, Kabul-based Tolo News reported.

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Salahuddin Zahid, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said the accident happened in Mehtarlam, the provincial centre, “as Hashimi’s convoy was patrolling the city.”

He added five of Hashimi’s guards were injured in the accident and some of them are in critical condition.

Soon after regaining power in August last year, the Taliban renamed the infamous National Directorate of Security as General Directorate of Intelligence, Afghanistan's intelligence-gathering agency.