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October 17, 2025 – Afghanistan –
The IFJ and the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Union (AIJU) have strongly denounced the killing of Afghan media worker Abdul Zahir Safi, who was killed on 16 October 2025 in Kabul after an alleged air strike in a civilian area. This marks the second media worker killed in Afghanistan over two days, following the killing of journalist Abdul Ghafoor Abed, who died while covering cross-border fighting from Pakistan.
Safi, who worked within the state-media network under the Ministry of Information and Culture’s Technical and Taranum Directorates, was in his fifties. According to AIJU sources, he was struck while on assignment in Kabul, which had just entered a temporary ceasefire agreement with Pakistan after escalating tensions.
The IFJ emphasized that media workers are civilians and should not be targeted in conflict zones. General Secretary Anthony Bellanger reiterated the demand for full adherence to international law and protection of journalists: “Journalists are civilians, not targets.”
The episode highlights the heightened risk for journalists amid intensifying Afghan-Pakistan border clashes, with reported air strikes and ground operations in Kabul, Kandahar, and Spin Boldak. AIJU described Safi’s death as illustrative of a broader pattern of impunity for attacks on media professionals in the region.
The organizations demand:
- An urgent, transparent investigation into Safi’s death and the earlier death of Abed;
- Immediate protective measures for journalists operating in active conflict zones;
- State actors to be held accountable for violence against media workers under international humanitarian and human-rights law.
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