US condemns assassination of Afghan govt's media head in Kabul

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki on Friday (local time) strongly condemned the assassination of Dawa Khan Menapal, the director of the Afghanistan government media information centre.

Speaking at the press briefing, Psaki said, "On behalf of the government, I strongly condemn the assassination of Dawa Khan Menapal, the director of Afghan govt media information centre. His murder follows the bombing attack in Kabul earlier this week that targeted the acting Afghan Defence minister."

Dawa Khan Menapal, who headed the Media and Information Centre of the Afghanistan government, was assassinated on Friday, local media reports said. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for his death.

Dawa Khan had served as head of the Afghan government's media wing in Kandahar in 2015 and worked as deputy presidential spokesman from 2016 to 2020.

"If Tabilan claims to want international legitimacy, these actions are not going to get them the legitimacy they seek. They don't have to stay on this trajectory. They could choose to devote the same energy to the peace process as they're to their military campaign," Psaki said.

"We strongly urge them to do so. This is what Afghan people so urgently need, deserve after decades of war. It is very much in Afghanistan's neighbours interest to invest renewed energy into a peace process that promotes a peaceful Afghanistan and stable region," she added.

Earlier on Tuesday, multiple explosions and sporadic gunfire were heard in the city of Kabul, near the residence of acting Afghanistan acting Defense Minister General Bismillah Mohammadi.

According to Afghan media, the explosions was due to a car bomb attack. However, the Taliban had claimed responsibility for the attack later.

However, Afghanistan acting Defense Minister later informed that he and his family are safe following a "terrorist attack" on his residence in Kabul.

The Taliban has increased their attacks against civilians, Afghan defence, and security forces.

In the past few weeks, Afghanistan has witnessed a surge in violence as the Taliban has intensified their offensive against civilians and Afghan security forces with the complete pullback of foreign forces just a few weeks away.

( With inputs from ANI )

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