An Indian author famous for her dramatic account of escaping Taliban-ruled Afghanistan nearly two decades ago, and who later returned to the country, has been shot dead by the hardline group after being dragged from her home.
It was the latest in a string of attacks and intimidation campaigns against prominent women. One senator lost a daughter in a recent ambush, and a popular MP remains missing weeks after she was kidnapped on a main highway.
The author Sushmita Banerjee, who married an Afghan and lived for years in a remote rural area, became a celebrity in India when her story was made into the Bollywood film Escape from Taliban.
She chose to move back to Afghanistan several years ago and was living with her husband, Janbaz Khan, in his family home just outside the main town in Paktika province, near the border with Pakistan, where she did healthcare work. . .