Afghan women’s rights activist Freshta Kohistani was assassinated along with her brother by unknown gunmen in Dahno village of Hes-e-Awal in Kohistan district of Kapisa province, a security source told TOLOnews on Thursday.

The assassination comes a day after unknown gunmen killed Yousuf Rasheed, CEO of the Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA) in Kabul along with his driver in the early morning.

The Afghan Ministry of Interior in a statement confirmed the killing of Freshta Kohistani.

“At around 5:00pm today, unknown gunmen riding on a motorcycle martyred Freshta Kohistani in Hes-e-Awal area of Kohistan district of Kapisa, her brother was wounded in the attack, the intelligence units have launched an investigation into the attack,” said the MoI in a statement.

But police in Kapisa said that Kohistani's brother was also killed in the attack.

 ‘Govt ignored threats against her’

On December 13, Freshta Kohistani in a Facebook post criticized the Afghan security agencies for not helping to ensure her security and she requested help from First Vice President Amrullah Saleh.

“Several times I asked the Ministry of Interior, the minister himself, the head of the anti-crime department and the head of the National Directorate of Security to address the threats that I am faced with, but they disregarded me,” wrote Freshta Kohistani.

 “I again request that the responsible authorities take my issue seriously, otherwise those who never addressed my security and problems will be responsible for my blood. Now that the Ministry of Interior and the NDS did not take it seriously, I request Mr. Saleh and rest of the elders of the country to do something,” she wrote.

On Wednesday, Yousuf Rasheed, CEO of the Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA), and his driver Sami were killed in Kabul by unknown gunmen.

On Tuesday, 5 doctors were also killed in a targeted attack.

On Monday night, Rahmatullah Nikzad, a freelance reporter and head of a media safety union in Ghazni, was killed in an attack by unknown armed men in the province.

The attack happened near his home, according to local officials. 

Amnesty International South Asia in a tweet said that the assassination of Nikzad “is a horrific crime. “This is the fifth journalist killed in the last two months,” Amnesty Intl said.

Nikzad was the fifth journalist killed in the country in less than two months. Former TOLOnews presenter Yama Siawash, Radio Azadi reporter Elyas Daee, Enekaas TV's presenter in Nangarhar Malala Maiwand, and Ariana News presenter Fardin Amini were all killed in separate incidents since November 7.