Kabul rally demands arrest of pro-Taliban govt. officials

KABUL.

The rally comes weeks after officials in northeastern Kunduz province said that militants had kidnapped 220 passengers on the Kunduz-Takhar highway in two separate incidents last month.

Eighteen of the passengers were killed while 21 others are still in rebels’ custody. The rest of hostages were either released by the captors or rescued by the security forces.

Dozens of Kabul residents and civil society activists rallied in the capital, urging the authorities to prevent passenger kidnap cases on highways and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Same Daryaee, one participant of the demonstration, said that kidnappings hadbecome a lucrative business for some quarters, but such sordid incidents were unacceptable to the masses.

“The government should overcome its incompetence and negligence on the security situation,” he remarked, saying progress and prosperity would remain a distant dream in the absence of security.

In a resolution letter, the demonstrators asked the national unity government to release complete information about the passengers’ abduction by the Taliban. The people must be assured of the kidnappers’ arrest, the letter stressed.

The also asked the National Security Council (NSC) to pay greater attention to forging better coordination among security institutions of the country.

“The government should also take action to expose the administration officials who are supporting the Taliban, and bring them to justice,” the protestors demanded.

mds/mud