Rawan, who hosted a popular talk show on Tolo News before entering the government ministry, was killed by unknown gunmen.
Nemat Rawan, a former Afghan television journalist, was shot dead south of the city of Kandahar, officials said, becoming the fifth journalist to be killed this year.
Rawan hosted a popular talk show on the country’s leading station, Tolo News, before joining the finance ministry as a communications specialist last month.
He was “killed by unknown gunmen,” Kandahar City Police spokesman Jamal Nasir Barekzai told AFP news agency.
“It is heartbreaking to learn that a friend and former comrade Nemat Rawan was shot dead in the city of Kandahar today,” Lotfullah Najafizada, head of Tolo News, posted on Twitter.
No responsibility has been claimed for the attack, but the Taliban have been blamed for a wave of assassinations targeting journalists in recent months.
Taliban warning
On Wednesday, a Taliban spokesman warned that media workers who make “partial reports” will be “responsible.”
Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the country’s peace council, on Thursday condemned the Taliban’s threat to the media and “any attempt to silence Afghan journalists.”
Members of Afghanistan’s educated class, including journalists, activists and judges, have for months been the target of bombings and shootings, forcing many to hide or leave the country.
Killings have risen since peace talks began last year between the Afghan government and the Taliban, sparking fears the rebels will eliminate perceived opponents when negotiations stall.
At least 11 Afghan journalists were killed in 2020 and four more were killed this year, according to a recent Amnesty International issue.
In early March, three media workers were shot dead in the eastern city of Jalalabad.
About 1,000 Afghan media workers have quit their jobs in the past six months, a security committee of Afghan journalists recently said.
For a long time, Afghanistan has been ranked as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.
