US drone strike that killed Zawahiri triggers widespread protests

KABUL (Pajhwok):  Protests were carried out across Afghanistan on Friday to condemn Sunday’s drone strike that killed Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahir in Kabul, calling the attack violation of the country’s sovereignty.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden announced that Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike in Sherpur area of Kabul on Sunday morning.

On the first day of the announcement, the caretaker government of Afghanistan, without saying anything about the killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, confirmed the attack and called it a violation of the Doha agreement.

However, the government on Thursday issued a statement, saying it had no information about the arrival and stay of Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, directing intelligence agencies to thoroughly probe the claim. The Taliban also warned the US of consequences if the country repeated such an attack.

On Friday, people protested in Kabul and a number of provinces, denouncing the attack and chanting anti-American slogans.

The protests were carried out in Kabul, Farah, Samangan, Helmand, Paktika, Badakhshan, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Khost, Badghis, Balkh, Logar and several other provinces.

Dozens of people took part in a protest demonstration in the city of Farah in western Afghanistan after Friday’s prayers. Imam of the central mosque of Farah, Mullah Asmatullah, told Pajhwok: “America should stop making false claims. Joe Biden is lying that Ayman al-Zawahiri was martyred.”

Another protester, Musa, condemned the US attack and said: “We want the US to leave Afghanistan alone. The US has no right to attack our homeland.”

A number of people staged a protest demonstration in Aibak city, the center of Samangan province against what they called the American attack on Afghanistan’s sovereignty.  They said Afghanistan was an independent country and no foreign country has the right to interfere in internal affairs of the country.

Maulvi Baz Muhammad Nayab, head of Hajj and Religious Affairs Department of Samangan, said in the rally: “No country has the right to interfere in the territory of our country. The people of Afghanistan will stand against any aggressor and fight against it.”

The drone attack also triggered protest in Lashkargah, the capital of southern Helmand province. The protesters condemned the attack and said the US after its defeat in Afghanistan now wanted to kill innocent Afghans.

Maulvi Abdul Qahir, a cleric of the Sheikh Zahid Jamia Mosque in Lashkargah, told Pajhwok: “US President Joe Biden is lying that they martyred Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul”

Another protester, Ahmed Waheed, condemned the American attack and said that the US had no right to attack their country under one name or another. Instead, the US should release the frozen assets of Afghanistan, he added.

Similarly, dozens of residents of Paktika’s capital, Sharana, condemned the US drone strike in Kabul, accusing the US and allies of hatching conspiracies against the Afghans and the Islamic Emirate and asked them to stop invading the Afghan territory.

Haji Akbar, one of the participants of the protest, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the American claim that Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in Kabul was not true.

He believed the US carried out the attack in Kabul as a conspiracy to pave the way for another invasion of the country.

“The US and the Jews are making conspiracies against the oppressed nation of Afghanistan. I call on all of Afghans and all our brothers to not fall prey to these conspiracies.”

Another participant of the protest, Ehsanullah, said the drone attack was aimed at insulting the Islamic Emirate and that the people and the government would not allow America to carry out similar action on Afghan soil again. He told Pajhwok Afghan News that he was ready to offer any sacrifice against America.

After Friday prayers, thousands of people protested in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, and several districts to condemn what they called the violation of Afghanistan’s airspace by the US drone.

Maulawi Abdul Hameed, the Faizabad mosque imam, said: “The occupation of Afghanistan by any country is unacceptable for the Muslim people of Afghanistan.”

Maulvi Ziaullah, the preacher of Fazil Bigi Mosque in the old city of Faizabad, said in the rally that America had been defeated by the Mujahideen and the people of Afghanistan and now the country wanted to avenge its defeat through targeted attacks on Kabul city.

Dozens of people protested against the recent US airstrike in Pul Alam, the center of Logar, after Friday prayers.

The participants of the rally slammed the drone attack on Afghanistan’s soil  and said the US had failed in the war-torn country and now wanted to kill innocent Afghans.

Mohammad Aslam, one of the participants of the protest, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the US was interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs and wanted to turn the country into a battlefield again.

He asked Islamic countries to officially recognize the Taliban government and strengthen political and economic relations with Afghanistan.

Another participant of the protest, Shah Mohammad, told Pajhwok that tribal leaders, religious scholars and youths of Logar province took part in the protest.

He said that the American airstrike was a clear violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and the international community should not remain silent to the attack.

Demonstrations were also held in Sarai North and several other areas of Kabul. Anti-American protests emerged in different areas of Jalalabad city, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province. A number of people protested against America in southeastern Khost province.

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