Two Ismaili Men Wounded In Armed Attack In Badakhshan
Local sources in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, say two young men from the Ismaili community were wounded after being shot by armed assailants.
Local sources in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, say two young men from the Ismaili community were wounded after being shot by armed assailants.
According to the sources, the men, both residents of Shighnan district, were targeted on Thursday evening, in the Dasht-e Qargh area of Faizabad as they were closing their shop and heading home.
Sources told Afghanistan International that the two victims were taken to the central hospital in Faizabad, where their condition has been reported as critical. They were identified as Shah Nazar and Ghulam Hussein.
The assailants reportedly opened fire from inside a vehicle before fleeing the scene. Taliban local officials have not commented on the incident.
The attack comes amid growing concerns over violence against the Ismaili community in Badakhshan. Earlier, local sources reported that Mohammad Shah, an Ismaili Muslim from Shighnan district who worked for a private office, was shot dead by armed individuals in the same area of Faizabad.
According to local sources, pressure on followers of the Ismaili faith has intensified sharply in recent months, particularly in Badakhshan. They said that at least three Ismaili men were killed by unidentified gunmen in the province over the past month alone.
A report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said that during the first three months of 2025, Taliban officials coerced more than 50 Ismaili Muslims into converting to Sunni Islam, using beatings, intimidation and death threats against those who refused.
Documents obtained by Afghanistan International show that the Taliban’s Council of Ulema in Badakhshan has drafted a directive ordering the conversion of Ismaili followers.
Earlier, Khalid Hanafi, the Taliban’s minister for the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice, claimed during a meeting with an Ismaili Shiite delegation that the rights of Ismailis are protected in Afghanistan.
