Breaking: Fawzia Koofi injured in an assassination plot

Ms. Fawzia Koofi, a member of Afghanistan’s peace negotiation team, survived an attack by armed men on the Kabul-Parwan highways on Friday evening.

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. Ms, Koofi injuries are considered to be not life-threatening. 

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.  Foreign Affairs Minister Hanif Atmar and Lawmaker Nahid Farid also denounced the plot on Ms. Fawzia Koofi.

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