Bamyan rally rebukes ICC’s request for IEA leaders arrest

BAMYAN CITY (Pajhwok): Some residents, including women, in central Bamyan province have held a protest rally and called the request for an arrest warrant for the Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by the International Criminal Court (ICC) unfair and contrary to legal and political principles.

ICC on Thursday announced that it is seeking arrests of two IEA leaders for their role in gender-based crimes.

A statement issued by the office of the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, requests approval for warrants for Haibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the IEA, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, chief justice of the IEA’s supreme court.

The charge: They are “criminally responsible” for persecuting Afghan girls and women, their allies and those the Taliban perceives as not conforming with their ideological expectations of gender identity or expression.

The IECC proposal sparked reactions from different corners

Some residents, including women, in Bamyan province during two protest gatherings termed the ICC proposal unfair and politically motivated.

Sayed Nasrullah Waeezi, head of the Bamyan Ulema Council, said: “This protest rally is against the request for an unjust ruling from the Hague court, this request is completely far from political logic and international law and violates justice, people are demanding justice and impartiality in this regard.”

Mohammad Sajad Mohsani, one of the local elders, said the ICC has remained silent on many crimes against humanity, and for example, the massacre of more than 40,000 innocent people, including thousands of women and children in Gaza, has remained without any serious action from the court.

He said The Netherlands-based International Criminal Court must investigate and pursue human values ​​based on existing facts and without bias.

Mohammad Din, one of the protesters, said the people of Bamyan wanted justice to prevail and they always support human rights and values.

Sakina Mohammadi, one of the women protesters, said the people of Bamyan want peace and justice in the country and will not give anyone the right to interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in a statement said The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) firmly rejected these baseless accusations.

It is unfortunate that such unfounded claims are being made against the respected leaders of the IEA at a time when Afghanistan enjoyed nationwide peace, its people have breathed a sigh of relief, private prisons, kidnappings, the islands of power, & numerous other atrocities & crimes against humanity have been eradicated.

The statement strongly condemned and rejected the baseless allegations made by a prosecutor of the ICC regarding the Supreme Leader of the IEA, His Highness Amir-ul-Mu’mineen, & the respected Chief Justice of Afghanistan, Sheikh Abdul Hakim Haqqani.

The call for their arrest was, like many other decisions of this institution, devoid of just and legal basis, influenced by political motivated agendas, and a reflection of double standards.

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