Written pledges from illegal gunmen won’t work: Balkhis

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Civil society activists and some lawmakers in Balkh province on Monday asked the government disarm illegal militias instead of taking pledges from them.

As part of the Security Charter program, the governor’s house of Balkh province has started the process of taking written commitments from illegal armed militia commanders not to indulge in illegal activities.

Officials say the illegal commanders have pledged not to allow their supporters to commit illegal acts.

But some civil society members and lawmakers in Mazar-e-Sharif said the agreement process was illegal and could not help alleviate the problem.

Gul Rehman Hamdard, a member of the Wolesi Jirga, told Pajhwok Afghan News that illegal armed groups and commanders were the biggest threat to security in the country.

He added that activities of local illegal armed groups had led to a growing distrust between the government and the people.

Hamdard said the Security Charter program had identified a number of people accused of posing security threats.

To a question, the lawmaker said weapons should be taken from illegal commanders instead of commitments.

He believed there was no guarantee that illegal armed men would live up to their commitments.

Hamid Safwat, a lecturer at Balkh University, said the government should just enforce the law. He said it was unfortunate that the government was signing pledges with illegal armed groups instead of disarming them.

Civil society activist Syed Mohammad Yazdanparast said no irresponsible gunman and commander would stand by his commitment to the government.

However, he added that given the situation, the government’s move could help the security situation to some extent.

“We know that illegal gunmen are not committed to anything, but the benefit of a written commitment would encourage them to avoid creating insecurity,” he said.

Meanwhile, Balkh Governor Mohammad Farhad Azimi assured the people that implementation of the security charter program would bring about a positive change in the security and social situation in Balkh.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News that he had started taking a series of pledges under the Security Charter program from a number of people who had previously been accused of illegal activities.

According to Azimi, after a written commitment to the government, if a commander engaged in illegal activities, he would be dealt with seriously.

“We have received written commitments from a number of commanders in the past few days and will continue to do so in the future,” he said.  The governor said he would no longer allow anyone to engage in illegal activities.

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