All those involved in the assassination of the politician are alive and well today.
Author: Ahmadshah Farid
I personally have seen the files on the Kazimi assassination case.
This assassination was the third shocking event following the deaths of Amir Sahib and Haji Qadir. Although the assassination of Haji Qadir was initially attributed to Marshal Fahim, it later became clear that it was the work of Pakistan’s ISI in collusion with Karzai’s inner circle — aimed at consolidating Pashtun influence and exploiting internal conflicts in Nangarhar. Nevertheless, this accusation against Fahim served its purpose: it helped remove him from power.
The Kazimi case was handled by the Special Directorate of the National Security Service, which was headed at the time by General Fattah. It was a heavy, extensive case running to thousands of pages. Among the accused were dozens of government officials: employees of the Ministry of Education (then led by Minister Hanif Atmar), Baghlan representative Shukriya Ishaqkhel, several deputy ministers, school principals and teachers in Baghlan, and two close associates of Ashraf Ghani.
The person who sheltered the suicide attackers two days before the attack in his home in Baghlan was ethnically Pashtun, had a history in the Parcham faction, and during Dr. Najib’s era had served as head of the HAD (State Security Service) in Samangan Province. Through Shukriya Ishaqkhel, the Baghlan representative, he became close to Hanif Atmar. This information was first revealed by the accused himself, but the investigation was repeatedly delayed and sidestepped, which only heightened the sensitivity of the case.
Another accused was from Logar Province. His brother was a representative of nomads in parliament and a close associate of Ashraf Ghani. Previously, he had been detained in another case for transferring money and weapons from Kabul to Waziristan, Quetta, and tribal areas, but was released through Ashraf Ghani’s intercession.
According to National Security reports, he commanded an ethnic militia, transporting weapons and drugs across the border. He was the one who brought two suicide attackers from Pakistan to Baghlan to assassinate Kazimi.
The attackers had been trained in Pakistan. They stayed three days at the home of a former parliamentary representative in Baghlan, and two days at the home of the former head of HAD in Samangan in the same region. Although they were forbidden from contacting the outside world, people from the Presidential Palace (Arg) and several associates of Atmar visited them twice.
The saddest point was that the investigation was led by a young and talented investigator from Rustaq District, Takhar Province. Yet by order of the Attorney General, the case was taken from him and handed over to an elderly Pashtun general, also with a Parcham background. Later, this general became head of the special National Security Directorate.
In the end, Dr. Abdullah Lagmani — ethnically Pashtun, former member of the Shura-e-Nazzar, and first deputy head of the National Security Service — worked day and night to ensure justice in this case. He consulted with Professor Rabbani and Marshal Fahim, trying to see the investigation through to the end. But, unfortunately, after some time, all the accused were released, the case was left unresolved, and shortly thereafter, Dr. Lagmani himself was assassinated.
All those arrested had admitted their crimes, yet later occupied ministerial posts in Ashraf Ghani’s government, received multimillion-dollar contracts, and built multi-story mansions in Kabul and Baghlan. Later, Gulab Mangal was sent to Dand-i-Ghuri, where the area was handed over to the Taliban, and nighttime army operations were canceled.
Today, those same people — under Taliban rule in Kabul, and also in Dubai, Istanbul, and Germany — live comfortably and safely. Perhaps they even read these lines and smile wryly.
