KABUL - The Council of Ministers (CoM) has ordered government organizations to identify and question military and non-military officials who attended the Kabul protest last month.
A leaked letter of the Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC) reveals that the ministry – based on the CoM order – has directed the human resources department to identify officials who attended the demonstration, where thousands of countrymen protested over the beheading of seven Zabul hostages.
However, the MoIC spokesman Haroon Hakimi said no such letter had been issued by the ministry.
"No letter has been issued by the ministry in this regard," he said.
The Chief Executive spokesman Mujiburrahman Rahimi meanwhile said the decision has been taken based on complaints by a number of government organizations.
He said: "An investigation was ordered in this regard. The government officials who take salaries, their job is to do their duty during official hours and serve the people. In future when there is a protest, they [government officials] should be present at their job and not leave their offices."
Civil society activists meanwhile criticized the decision by the CoM.
"Any step which is taken in this regard is illegal. If every citizen faces such a situation and then he or she is questioned for what they did is against the law," said Mujib Khalwatgar, head of Nai – an independent organization which supports open media in Afghanistan.
"The biggest guarantee is the 36th Article of the Constitution, based on which no one has the right to interrogate or punish someone for participating in a protest. Making the list of such people is against the law and even it is treachery," he added.
Following the brutal beheading of seven Zabul residents by alleged Daesh members, tens of thousands of people from around the country stood together and took to the streets and to social media platforms in protest over the killings last month. One mass protest march was in Kabul where an estimated 20,000 people took part. Such a public demonstration has not been recorded in over 40 years in Afghanistan. (Tolonews)