Hesamuddin Akbari, head of the Badghis provincial dental clinic, was shot dead on Saturday evening in the Jar-e Khushk area of Qala-e-Naw, according to local sources, in a killing whose motive and perpetrators remain unclear.
The sources said armed individuals first took Akbari to the Jar-e Khushk area and then shot him four times. No group has claimed responsibility, and there has been no publicly established motive for the killing.
Akbari held an official position as head of the provincial dental clinic while also operating a private dental clinic in Qala-e-Naw. Earlier employment notices provide evidence of the existence of his private dental clinic and show that it had been seeking dental staff.
Taliban authorities have reportedly detained a man and a woman in connection with the incident. However, the circumstances of their detention, the allegations against them and whether either person had a direct role in Akbari’s killing have not been established.
The lack of information about the motive leaves several key questions unanswered. At this stage, attributing the killing to a particular individual or group without additional evidence would be premature.
The case also highlights continuing concerns surrounding the security of healthcare workers and owners of private medical facilities in Afghan cities. When the identity of attackers and the motive behind killings remain unclear, uncertainty can persist even after arrests are made.
For residents of Qala-e-Naw, the central issue now is whether the investigation will establish who carried out the shooting, why Akbari was targeted and what role, if any, the two detained individuals played.
The available information does not yet provide answers to those questions. Further findings from the Taliban investigation will be necessary before the circumstances surrounding the killing can be established with greater certainty.
Until then, the death of the Badghis dental clinic chief remains a case of a healthcare professional killed by gunfire, with the motive, perpetrators and alleged involvement of those detained still unresolved.
