Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Wednesday, April 24th, 2024

Afghan MPs above the Law

According to the Constitution of Afghanistan, the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is the highest legislative organ in the country; it manifests the will of the Afghans and represents the whole nation. Every member of the National Assembly must take into judgment the general welfare and supreme interests of all people of Afghanistan at the time of casting their vote. Afghan MPs shall be the rule model of implementing the law in the country, because they pass them. By doing so they will encourage the people to respect the law and support the law enforcement and Justice Institution of the country. This means that people would obey laws, whether they like them or not. They can be the champions of prohibition of discrimination in the country; they can suuport the government to eliminate every obstacle which impedes the equality of men and women in social, political, cultural and economic life based on the race, language, religion, and Political opinions, personal and social conditions.
However, MPs of Afghanistan usually have perused their own interests and privileges. Most of them usually do not take part in the meetings of their boards and the National Assembly. They have tried to pass laws and regulations to ensure their personal interests. They passed the Law on Impunity and Privileges of MPs in 2014. Afghan civil society, social media, press and people reacted strongly against this act of the MPs and called it an act of seeking personal privilege and considering themselves above the law and people.
Many MPs have reacted violently against the Afghan National Defense and Security measures to maintain the security of the Afghan citizens; e.g when ANSDF have tried to implement the law on the MPs they have treated them against the law. For example, when MOI decided to remove the films and colored windows of the vehicles of the Afghan authorities they asked Moil to treat them as an exception. Afghan people believe that vehicles without number plates and vehicles with colored windows play a key role in increasing the crime rate in Kabul and other provinces. They believe kidnappers use these vehicles and terrorist groups conduct their operations using these vehicles too. In addition to this, they use more body guards as mentioned in the law; they do not follow traffic rules and regulations, bully the police and the people, and use vehicles lacking number plates or use illegal vehicles.
Afghan Parliament is the highest legislative institution of the country. Members of the National Parliament can play a key role both in approving the laws and institutionalizing respecting the rule of law by the citizens if they are a rule model themselves. However, the Afghan MPs have not been much successful in both passing the laws and playing a constructive role in obeying the laws they have passed. As a result, they have not been a champion of observing the law before the people. They have taken measures to pass the laws to ensure their own privilege and impunity. Afghan MPs have frequently violated the regulations to improve the security including regulations on not using filmed or colored windows by vehicles, prevent using vehicles with no number plates in Kabul and other cities. The last but not the least, in order to maintain security and prevent crimes in Kabul and other cities, the law shall be implemented equally on all citizens.