Afghan figures protest to UNAMA over Pakistan military strikes

KABUL (Pajhwok): A group of Afghan political figures, university professors, civil activists and tribal elders submitted a protest letter to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul on Monday over recent attacks by Pakistan’s military regime on Afghanistan.

On 16 March, Pakistani forces attacked a drug treatment centre in the 9th police district of Kabul city, martyring 400 people and injuring 250 others.

Prior to and following that incident, Pakistan military regime has carried out attacks in various parts of Afghanistan, causing civilian casualties.

The protest letter, submitted to UNAMA, calls for strong condemnation by the United Nations, its member states and international human rights organisations of Pakistan’s aerial and ground attacks on Afghanistan.

It urges that any future aggressive actions by Pakistan be firmly prevented.

The letter emphasises that, under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, Afghanistan’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity must be fully respected.

It also calls for an impartial and comprehensive investigation by relevant international organisations into the airstrike carried out by Pakistani forces on 16 March at the 2,000-bed drug treatment hospital.

The signatories further demand that Asim Munir and the involved military personnel be referred to the International Criminal Court for war crimes committed in Afghanistan and be strictly punished for actions aimed at undermining regional and international security and stability.

The letter urges that the Pakistani military regime compensate the families of those killed or injured in the airstrikes and calls on international human rights organisations and judicial bodies to follow the matter seriously.

Finally, the Afghan figures stressed that Pakistan should not blame Afghanistan for its internal failures and security gaps, and that Afghan territory should not be used against any country.

They also called on Pakistan to cease projects that create instability in the region and to abandon the use of “terrorism” as a policy tool.

hz/sa