Elders want cop executed for Quran desecration

LASHKARGAH (PAN and in Musa Qala district earlier in the month.

At a meeting with the Helmand governor, nearly 20 elders also urged the government to arrest and punish the policemen who killed five civilians and wounded several others during a subsequent protest over the incident.

The blasphemous action was aimed to provoke the religious sentiments of the people, one tribal elder from, Hajji Shah Agha, told Pajhwok Afghan News after the overnight meeting. He claimed 26 people were killed and 33 others wounded in the March 20 shooting.

If the policemen were not publicly sentenced to death, they would cut their ties to the government, warned another tribal elder, Haji Hikmatullah. He identified the blasphemer a Ahmad Shah, a resident of Toghi area and a checkpoint commander in the district.

Advisor to the president, Siddique Aziz, said investigations showed nearly 40 people suffered casualties in the incident. Investigators had also met the accused policeman, he said, adding they would soon submit their report to the president and the criminal would be punished.

He urged residents to avoid protests and reopen the main district bazaar. The probe delegation would convey their demands and suggestions to central government, Aziz said.

myn/mud

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