Bismillah Aimaq was a journalist in Ghor and the head of a local radio network in the province who was killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen on the first day of this year. His father has come to Kabul to seek justice from the government.

Gul Mohammad, Aimaq’s father, said he calls on the president to hear his voice and find the perpetrators behind the assassination of his son.

Aimaq’s brother and two nephews were also killed in an attack by unidentified armed men weeks after the attack. He said that three members of his family are in government custody over the second incident, but the main perpetrators are still roaming free.

“I swear to God that 40 people have been left for me to feed, including five widows… We ask the president to address our plight,” Gul Mohammad said.

He added that the murderers of his sons have been recognized but relevant officials are not making any effort to arrest them.

“The killers of my sons are roaming free with SUVs along with 10 illegal armed men… I ask that they should be tried based on the law,” said Gul Mohammad.

Bismillah Adil’s brother and two nephews were killed in an attack by armed men on their house on February 25. Seven other members of their family were wounded in the incident.

“I ask the government to pay attention to this family and find the killers,” said Sediqullah Tawhidi, the head of programs of the Journalists’ Safety Committee.

“The issues of Aimaq is not an easy one. We witnessed the killing of four people over this issue. A few more people were arrested. The president should assign a high-ranking team to probe the issue so that we prevent such incidents in the future,” said Mujib Khalwaqtgar, CEO of Nai, an organization supporting open media in Afghanistan.

The National Directorate of Security said that Ezatullah Bek and Abdull Rahman Atshan, members of the Ghor provincial council, were behind the killing of Aimaq, and said that Bek was killed in a clash with security forces. The claim has been rejected by Atashian’s family.