Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Tragic Stories Continue

The recent serial killings of Afghan civilians have filled the people of Afghanistan with an outpouring of grief. Afghans are reeling from repeated killings of non-combatants, which are making national and international headlines. The Taliban are said to be behind the constant killings of men, women, and children.
The public air is filled with disappointment. Afghans paid heavy sacrifices for advocating democracy within the last two decades, but the Taliban still inflict casualties on them. That is, the Taliban signed peace agreement with the United States but intensified their attacks against Afghanistan, which is an Islamic country.
With the escalated militancy, tragedy has loomed large on day-to-day basis. The riddled and amputated bodies in a suicide bombing and hot drops of blood oozing from sliced throats seem no more than tragic plays or horror films in movies. One is unlikely to be taken aback while hearing the heart-wrenching stories of war victims, who undergo the radical ideology of militant fighters.
The vacuum for tolerance and acceptance is felt strongly among human societies, especially with the radical practices of religious ideologues. People are killed on the grounds of their caste, color and creed around the globe and terrorist networks seek to stoke sectarianism. Human rights and liberty are violated to a great extent since war and violence continue unabated. The spirit of brotherhood is missing and life has turned cheap.
The poignant incidents and heart-wrenching stories of war victims are stain on the collective conscience. The passive role of the international community in such a critical situation is a matter of great concern. The world has to stop playing the role of spectator or simply condemning the issue. There is a lot to be done so as to root out the terrorism and uphold the rights and dignity of the people regardless of their ethnicity, color or faith. There is a crying need for ending the war through an effective strategy and combating insurgency.
Afghan nation believed to taste the fruit of democracy and live their utopia, in which there were no violence. They flocked to ballot boxes to elect their president and representatives. In other words, the colorful queues of men and women who were waiting impatiently to cast their votes for changing their society and history were really heartening.
To the nation’s unmitigated chagrin, insurgency resurfaced and some of the voters’ fingers were cut by the Taliban fighters during elections. The Taliban’s ragtag militants were reorganized to carry out attacks against the Afghan government.
The day-to-day macabre stories of the terrorist victims add insult to the historical injuries of our people. Our old wounds are being infected by the poisonous ideologies of the newly emerging militants. Afghans have never been put in the process of therapy for their bleeding hearts root in two decades of war and carnage.
The world has to demolish the hubs of terrorism and terrorist groups, including those seminaries which have changed into hotbed of radical mindsets. That is, militant fighters must be shot on the head and all factors that pave the ground for radicalism are to be combated. It seems that the deep-seated ideology of militant groups will not be ended unless those ideologues are killed.
On the other hand, human societies must nurture the spirit of brotherhood and strengthen the bases of democracy. Establishing democratic administrations and giving participatory role to the public will decrease war and violence and enable individuals to exercise their rights freely.
There must be no room for the radical ideologies in Afghanistan anymore to victimize our people. Afghans are not doomed to suffer violence and bloodshed. We must learn from the history and do not let it repeat. Constitutionally, the government is liable to “strengthen national unity, safeguard independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country; establish an order based on the peoples’ will and democracy; form a civil society void of oppression, atrocity, discrimination as well as violence, based on rule of law, social justice, protecting integrity and human rights, and attaining peoples’ freedoms and fundamental rights; strengthen political, social, economic as well as defense institutions….”
The Taliban group shot stop their systematic killings as well as targeting civilians. If the same trend continues, Afghans will run out of patience and may take arm against the group. In short, if Afghan clerics issue fatwa of jihad against the Taliban group, it will be eliminated. With this in mind, the Taliban have to respect the rights and freedoms of Afghan people.