Halima Imami, a resident of Shahidaan district, was shot dead by unknown gunmen near a vegetable and fresh fruit market in Bamyan city at around 11:15 a.m on Sunday, September 25.
A source close to Imami’s family, who preferred not to be named due to security concerns, said she along with her two young nieces had gone to a wool shop the day she was killed. She used to make a living by twisting wool to form yarn.
The same day she intended to go to a government office to get his brother’s death certificate who had died 13 years ago because Imami wanted to officially register herself as the caretaker of her two nieces.
Imami received a call from someone saying that she needs to visit Abrar Institution behind Bamyan airport to receive aid. The source said it is not clear what happened after Imami separated from her nieces.
She was supposed to go to Alikaan Chawk from where she could take a car to get to the Abrar Institute. But she instead went to the fruit and vegetable market where she was shot and died instantly. It is unclear why she changed her route.
The source said that the family have asked the Taliban’s criminal investigation department to check her phone call history and find out who were the last people in touch with her.
Imami was shot four times. One bullet hit her face, one in the palm of her right hand, and two on the left side of the body. Two of the bullets were fired from a pistol and two from a Klashinkov.
Another source said two armed men, with long hair, shot her dead, and then fled into a forest nearby, and no one could follow them fearing for their own lives.
The first source said Imami had divorced her husband four years ago, but she had no problem with him or his family. She had six children, four daughters and two sons, all of whom lived with her husband.
He said the rumors that she was killed by her ex-husband is untrue, and that he wouldn’t dare to kill her in broad daylight. Imami lived with her mother and brother’s family. Her pregnant sister-in-law had a miscarrige after she heard the news of Imami’s death.
Though the motive behind Imami’s assassination is unclear local residents accuse the Taliban forces of being behind the shooting.
A shopkeeper near to the scene said no one would dare to kill someone in a crowded market during the day except the Taliban themselves.
Mohammad Khawani Rasa, a spokesman of the Taliban police in Bamyan, said the investigation was still going on and that police are looking to find out who carried out the assassination.
The killing of Imami has raised concerns among Bamyan residents who worry that why no suspect has been arrested five days after the incident.
Women’s rights activists held an indoor protest demanding answers on why and how Imami was killed. They said women are getting killed in Afghanistan every day and the world should break its silence about the situation of Afghan women.
