Around 30 ex- officials granted safety cards in Kabul

KABUL (Pajhwok): Approximately 30 former government officials, who recently returned to the country, were granted safety cards during a gathering in Kabul on Tuesday.

Officials at the event called on other Afghans living abroad to return home with confidence and reassurance.

Among those receiving safety cards were former Minister of Energy and Water Mohammad Arif Noorzai, former military secretary to ex-president Hamid Karzai, Gen. Mohammad Karim Kohistani, and former head of the Ministry of Defence’s DIAG committee, Ghulam Farooq Parwani.

Speaking at the event, Head of the Afghan Red Crescent Society Sheikh Shahabuddin Delawar said all Afghans were brothers who shared one another’s joys and sorrows.

He urged Afghans abroad to return to their homeland, stating: “Some people say why should we be pardoned? We’ve done nothing wrong.’ That may be true — but come back, live in your country. This pardon is not a punishment; it is a gesture of reassurance, dignity, and an opportunity for a better life. No one should feel insulted by it.”

Delawar, who is also chief of the Commission for Contact with Afghan Personalities,  added that individuals could return through the commission or independently, and the Islamic Emirate was committed to ensuring their safety.

He continued: “Ustad Sayyaf is a leader, a Sheikh-ul-Quran wa-Hadith. Sometimes I wonder — are you waiting to die in India or Turkey? Come back to your homeland. I say the same to Ustad Mohaqqeq, Ustad Khalili, Ata Mohammad Noor, and others. When we were in Qatar, they would sit with us. Sayyaf wasn’t there, but Mr. Qanooni and the others came and spoke of peace. Now there is peace — what more do you want? Another war? The people will not tolerate that. If we wanted war, no one would allow it now.”

Commission spokesperson Ahmadullah Wasiq said the safety card symbolised trust and assured that its holders would not face any threats or difficulties.

He added that the general amnesty announced by the Islamic Emirate had prevented numerous issues, including revenge attacks, bloodshed, personal enmities, and lawlessness.

Speaking on behalf of the returnees, Mohammad Arif Noorzai said:
“Our homeland has a right over us. We are all brothers under one roof, here to serve the people and the nation of Afghanistan.”

Gen. Mohammad Karim Kohistani shared an emotional reflection: “My parents passed away in 1968. I have felt the pain of being an orphan, but I had never experienced the pain of being without a homeland. Statelessness brings humiliation, despair, and hopelessness. I have no words — only gratitude to the commission and its members.”

Ghulam Farooq Parwani added: “Life in a foreign land was painful. From the moment I left Iran, I felt deep emotion — as though I had been born again. When I returned to Afghanistan, I wept and kissed the soil of my homeland.”

According to officials from the Commission for Contact with Afghan Personalities, since its establishment , a total of 1,143 former officials who had left the country have returned home.

kk/ma