Dozens of activists and residents of at least six provinces signed a petition calling for a thorough probe into the attack on former TOLOnews presenter Yama Siawash who was killed in an explosion in Kabul last year in November.

There has been less progress in a probe by the government into the attack that happened in downtown Kabul on November 7, 2020, killing three people including Siawash and two other employees of the Central Bank.   

“The martyrdom of Siawash, the martyrdom of Ayaz Niazi… are aimed at suffocating the voice of this nation,” said Abdul Rauf Tawana, head of Balkh Ulema Council. 

“The government should find the perpetrators behind such moves,” said Mobina Saee, a journalist in Kabul. 

Those who signed the petition called on the international community and the UN Security Council to launch a neutral probe into the incident. 

“We call on the United Nations Security Council to launch an investigation into the attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice,” said a resident in Takhar province. 

“The government should swiftly find the perpetrators behind the assassination of Yama Siawash and send them to justice,” said a Nimroz resident. 

“We are tired of war. We are tired of all these terror attacks and assassinations,” said a Zabul resident. 

Last month, Siawash’s family said they have lodged a complaint with the UN Security Council over the current handling of the case into their son’s death, stating that the Afghan government failed to address their demands to launch an investigation into the murder or arrest the perpetrators who planned the murder. 

In the complaint letter, the family of Yama Siawash questioned the approach of Ajmal Ahmadi, the acting governor of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, where Siawash was working.