As the holy month of Ramazan and Eidul Fitr ended, the greatest wish of the Afghan people, as always, is peace and stability in their country. This Ramazan proved to be very deadly for Afghanistan as Taliban and other groups of insurgents continued killing people across the country giving no value to the sacredness of holy month. Dozens of civilians were killed in terror attacks in Kabul, Paktika, Ghor, Herat, Kandahar, Helmand and other provinces. Meanwhile, some government authorities claimed that pardoned Taliban prisoners were involved in carrying out these attacks.

Pictures of a bride who was killed along with her groom and 12 other innocent people in Ghor province recently have been circulating on the internet. Afghans on social media are grieving over the incident and have posted anger-filled views against the government and Taliban.

Based on the opinions expressed by governor of Ghor province, a Taliban commander released with interference of influential government authorities from Ghor provincial prison carried out the massacre of 14 civilians. The commander is said to have formed a group of 2,500 people that is involved in terror activities in and around Ghor province.

Various circles had called upon President Hamid Karzai not to release Taliban prisoners so irresponsibly and that there was not trust in them. Nonetheless, over the past two years or so, the government released thousands of Taliban fighters from various prisons in the country including Bagram Detention Center. Time has proved it was not a mistake but a blunder by the palace.

Meanwhile, a number of civil society activists gathered in Kabul last week to protest against the brutalities of Taliban and recent killings in their hand. Their placards included statements such as ‘Taliban, the enemy of humanity.’ This is at times when the government even does not accept Taliban as enemies of the people of Afghanistan and the President has been calling them as his ‘annoyed brothers.’

Although Hamid Karzai has ordered formation of a committee to investigate the Ghor incident, such measures have only been symbolic in the past and have never rendered a positive outcome and perpetrators have never been brought to justice. With intensification of terror attacks, Afghanistan is going through bloody days. Government’s Taliban-friendly policies are one of the major reasons behind the deteriorating security situation.