Baghlan Governor Abdul Hai Nimati told Pajhwok Afghan News Taliban gunmen abducted Zalmay Zaheer when he was visiting his farmland in Khwaja Khan village.

 

 He further told the Afghanistan-based news agency: "The abducted candidate has been in a dispute over land with his nephews who have links with the Taliban."

 

But the mediation delegation had been told by the Taliban that they kidnapped Zaheer for his candidacy, the governor said.

 

However, a tribal elder, who wished to go unnamed, told Pajhwok Eng. Zaheer had been abducted by the Taliban for contesting the Oct elections.

 

The Taliban has not commented on the issue so far.

 

 What is Wolesi Jirga?

 

It is the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly of Afghanistan, alongside the upper House of Elders.