Uruzgan police chief shot dead, not killed in blast: MP

TRINIKOT (Pajhwok): The police chief for central Uruzgan province was shot dead by gunmen and not killed in a suicide attack in Kabul, a public representative claimed on Friday.

Earlier, the Ministry of Interior said a burqa-clad suicide bomber killed the influential police chief, Brig. Gen. Matiullah Khan, on Wednesday night in the sixth police district.

Khan, whose body was shifted from Kabul this morning, was laid to rest in ancestral town in Uruzgan. At his funeral ceremony, several people said the police officer had been gunned down.  

Wolesi Jirga member Obaidullah Barakzai told Pajhwok Afghan News Khan had been assassinated in Dasht-i-Barchi area as a result of a conspiracy.

The MP said his view was based on preliminary investigation. The police officer’s body bore no signs of shrapnel injuries, the lawmaker explained.  

Barakzai added the murder plot had been hatched by 14 people, one of whom had been detained last night while a search for the remaining 13 was ongoing.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Executive Officer Dr Abdullah Abdullah mourned Khan’s death as an irreparable loss for the entire country. He promised the immediate arrest of the killers.

The 40-year-old was born in Chino area of Tirinkot, the provincial capital.  When Hamid Karzai and his followers arrived in Uruzgan in 2001 to take over control of the area, Matiullah joined them against the Taliban.

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