Foreign Journalist killed in East Afghanistan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - One foreign journalist was killed and another critically wounded in a shooting in eastern Afghanistan, a day before the country's presidential elections.
The attack in Khost province on Friday highlights the poor security in country ahead of the polls, which the Taliban has vowed to disrupt, threatening to use "all force necessary".
The shooting comes less than a month after Swedish journalist Nils Horner was killed in broad daylight in Kabul's heavily patrolled diplomatic district, Al Jazeera reported.
The Committee to Project Journalists says journalists operating in Afghanistan are under "mounting pressure", with threats and harassment coming from "the government, the military, state security organisations, insurgent groups, and regional and ethnic power brokers seeking a return to power".
Saturday's election will mark the first democratic transfer of power from one president to another - a turning point after 13 years of fighting armed groups that has claimed nearly 3,500 members of a US-led coalition of troops and many thousands more from Afghanistan's security forces.
Pakistan's government has guaranteed to beef up security along its border with Afghanistan in order for the country's elections to run smoothly, as many of the border regions are under the control of Taliban fighters.
Afghanistan's Interior Minister Umer Daudzai said on Thursday that the election will take place in a "secure environment".
The Haqqani network, one of the most active armed groups in Afghanistan, operates in Khost province.
Daudzai and other security officials acknowledged that eastern Afghanistan remained one of the most difficult areas to control but insisted government security forces were ready to protect voters nationwide.
He also promised troops would remain neutral amid fears that tribal and other loyalties could create a conflict of interest.
Nearly 200,000 Afghan forces are being deployed to protect voters and polling stations. It will be a key test of their readiness to provide security as international combat troops prepare to withdraw by the end of this year.
