Mohammed Zubair Khaksar, a reporter for Afghanistan’s national television and radio broadcaster who also worked as a cultural adviser to the provincial governor in Nangahar, was fatally shot in the Moi Mubarak area of Surkhrod as he returned home from a friend’s house at around 9pm, according to the Pajhwok News Agency.
No one has claimed responsibility for his killing, though the Associated Press reported that the “Voice of the Caliphate,” an unregistered radio station operated by an affiliate of the Islamic State group, had previously threatened attacks against journalists in Nangahar and neighboring regions.
Afghan authorities have promised a thorough investigation into the journalist’s murder. In the period immediately before his death, Khaksar, who was also a poet, had begun working on cultural stories for the provincial government. It was not immediately clear whether his journalism, his work for the government, or some other factor was the motive for his murder.