(Kabul) A prominent doctor has been kidnapped and killed in northern Afghanistan, his family said on Saturday.
Mohamed Nader Alemi was kidnapped two months ago in the town of Mazar-e Charif, and his captors demanded a ransom for his release, his son Roheen Alemi said.
The family eventually paid them $ 350,000 after negotiating as the kidnappers demanded more than double, he said.
Despite payment, the kidnappers killed the Dr Alemi, leaving his body in the street, said his son. They called the family and told them where to find him on Friday, he said.
“My father was severely tortured, there are signs of injuries on his body,” Roheen Alemi said.
Mohamed Nader Alemi, a psychiatrist, worked for the provincial government hospital in Mazar-e Charif.
He also had a private clinic, which would be the city’s first private psychiatric clinic.
Under the previous US-backed government, crime increased, including kidnappings for ransom, prompting several businessmen to flee Afghanistan.
Kidnappings have continued since the Taliban took power on August 15, but with less frequency.
Taliban Interior Ministry spokesman Saeed Khosty said Taliban forces arrested eight suspected kidnappers who were behind the kidnappings of three people, including Dr.r Alemi, in the province of Balkh, where Mazar-e Charif is located.
He said two of those abducted were rescued, but Mohamed Nader Alemi was killed during the rescue attempt.
Police are looking for two associates of the eight men arrested who allegedly killed the doctor. “The Islamic Emirate is committed to finding and punishing the perpetrators,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Taliban-led finance ministry announced that all government employees will receive three months’ salaries. They had not been paid since the Taliban took control of the country.
The lack of pay for civil servants has been one of the factors fueling increased poverty in Afghanistan amid a collapsing economy.
The United States’ extraordinary representative for Afghanistan, Thomas West, responded to an open letter sent earlier this week by the Taliban foreign minister to the United States Congress.
In the letter, Amir Khan Muttaqi said US sanctions against the Taliban were fueling the economic crisis. He urged Congress to release billions of Afghan assets.
Thomas West said in a series of tweets that the Taliban had been warned that non-humanitarian aid to Afghanistan would be halted if the insurgents seized power militarily rather than reaching a negotiated settlement.
Legitimacy “must be earned” by establishing an inclusive government and respecting the rights of women and minorities, “including equal access to education and employment,” he said.
Thomas West added that the United States was providing $ 474 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan through United Nations agencies.