A World Health Organisation (WHO) security officer belonging to the Ismaili Shi’a minority was brutally murdered in Nangarhar province, raising renewed concerns over the safety of humanitarian workers and minority communities in Afghanistan.
The victim, identified as Sayed Qiyamuddin from Yamgan district in Badakhshan, was found tortured and killed in his bedroom two nights ago, local sources reported on Tuesday. He was serving in the security department of the WHO office in Nangarhar at the time of the incident.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that Qiyamuddin belonged to the Ismaili community, a Shi’a sect predominantly based in northeastern Afghanistan, and a frequent target of discrimination and violence. This tragic incident comes just eight months after Qiyamuddin’s brother, Sayed Shamir Yamgani, was also killed under suspicious circumstances inside the same WHO office. Despite the alarming pattern, neither the WHO nor the Taliban authorities have issued any statements regarding either murder.
The back-to-back killings at a UN health agency office underscore the escalating threats faced by humanitarian personnel in Afghanistan, particularly those from marginalised religious communities.
“The murder of two brothers, both WHO staffers from a persecuted minority, inside the same office within a year is deeply troubling,” said a regional observer who wished to remain anonymous due to security concerns. “The silence from authorities is deafening.”
According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), attacks on aid workers have seen an uptick in recent months, threatening the delivery of life-saving assistance to vulnerable populations across conflict-affected regions.
In Badakhshan, where the victims hailed from, local reports suggest Taliban authorities have imposed restrictions on humanitarian access to Ismaili populations, allegedly conditioning aid on conversion to Sunni Islam. Such actions, if verified, would constitute a severe breach of humanitarian principles and further inflame sectarian tensions in the area.
The repeated targeting of Ismaili aid workers has prompted calls for an independent investigation and heightened international scrutiny. Rights organisations and humanitarian agencies are urging the UN to press the de facto authorities for accountability and to guarantee the protection of all aid workers, regardless of their ethnic or religious identity.
No group has claimed responsibility for the killings, and investigations—if any—remain unconfirmed. The continued impunity raises fears that humanitarian neutrality and the lives of minority staff are increasingly at risk under Taliban rule.
