Former female Afghan MP Nabizada shot dead in Kabul; U.N. chief calls for probe

Mursal Nabizada and her guard were shot dead and her brother was injured in an attack on the weekend

Mursal Nabizada, a former female member of Afghanistan's parliament, has been killed by unknown gunmen at her home in Kabul, police said.

Nabizada and her guard were shot dead and her brother was injured in an attack on the weekend, police said.

The attack took place overnight on January 14, the police said in a statement issued later, adding that they were not informed until around 7 a.m. on Sunday morning.

"The police and security forces very soon took action and started investigation of the case," they said in the statement. No-one has been arrested and the investigation is continuing, they added.

Nabizada had been a lawmaker until the Taliban took over as foreign forces withdrew in 2021, when many politicians fled the country.

"Nabizada stayed in Afghanistan to fight for rights of women and girls," said Tirana Hassan, the Interim Executive Director at Human Rights Watch.

Karen Decker, the charge d'affaires of the United States' mission to Afghanistan, based in Qatar, called for the perpetrators to be held accountable.