Fawzia Koofi, a member of Afghanistan’s negotiation team, sustained “minor injuries” in an attack by armed men on the Kabul-Parwan highway in Qarabagh district, Kabul province, on Friday evening, said chief negotiator Masoom Stanekzai. 

The incident comes as the intra-Afghan negotiations are expected in the next few days and the 15-member team is ready to leave for Doha this week. Those close to Koofi have said the injuries are not life-threatening. 

The attack was condemned by Afghan political leaders. 

President Ghani condemned the attack and said “cowardly attacks on Afghan women activists will not stop their commitment to protect the values of the last 19 years in Afghanistan.” 

Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, in a tweet condemned the “assassination attempt” on Koofi and called on the government to “identify and apprehend the culprits" and seek a "possible motive for the attack." 

Former president Hamid Karzai condemned the attack and called it an act against the peace effort. 

Koofi has also served as a lawmaker in the Afghan parliament. She is a politician and a women’s rights activist. She has also served as the first woman deputy speaker of the Wolesi Jirga, the Afghan parliament. She is a leading Movement for Change, an institution defending women’s rights. 

This also comes as the United Nations in a statement on Friday called for protection of human rights defenders in Afghanistan.