SHIBERGHAN (Pajhwok): The family of two sisters allegedly raped by gunmen in northwestern Fayarb province has demanded the government provide them justice in the matter.
The victim family told Pajhwok Afghan News in a telephonic conversation that the incident occurred in Yousuf Mirzaee village of Qaramqol district which is under the Taliban control.
The Taliban militants confirmed the incident but said the perpetrators were not their members. The rebels said they were investigating the incident.
Father of the daughters told Pajhwok that on the first night of the ongoing of Ramadan month a number of armed men forced their way into his home.
The gunmen first broke his home’s widow mirrors, cut off electricity and then starting beating them. They then took his two daughters —14 and 16 years old — to the house guest room and raped them by six individuals.
He said he recognized two of the six armed men and he and his wife begged them a lot not to touch their daughters but they thrashed and tied them up and locked them into a room.
“With very difficulty, I untied my feet and hands and broke the room’s door and reached the street to ask for help by shouting to neighbors but no one came to our help.”
The daughters said, “We saw the armed men beating our parents, they took us to our guest room and then sexually abused us by six persons, but we know two of them namely Sibghatullah and Hamidullah who were previously our neighbors.”
Mother of the victims said they had shared the issue with Taliban leaders and had named the two men recognized by their daughters.
She said the Taliban had talked with their daughters and said they would investigate. However, there was no progress, she said.
She said after the incident they received death threats from the same armed men and as a result they left everything behind and migrated to Jwazjan province.
She urged rights organizations to help them seek justice and arrest of the rapists.
Meanwhile, Abdullah Zakizada, a security official in Andkhoi district, confirmed the incident and said efforts were underway to arrest the alleged rapists.
He said those who committed the crime belonged to illegal militia commanders Mohammadullah and Mullah Amin who operated against government in the area.
He said after the family complained to the Taliban, then one the parpetrators confessed to his crime and said he proposed one of the two sisters, but the family rejected his proposal.
However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the issue was being investigated and the offenders would see their punishment. He rejected their fighters’ involvement in the case.
Meanwhile, Maghfirat Samimi, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) head for Jwajzan, Sar-i-Pul and Faryab provinces, expressed her deep concern over the incident and said if the issue was not addressed, the family of the victims would experience more oppression.
She urged the international community put pressure on Taliban militants to prevent such incidents in areas of their control in future.
pk/ma
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