Paktia people say still suffer casualties in night raids

GARDEZ (Pajhwok): Residents of Zurmat district of southeastern Paktia province say civilians continue to suffer life and property losses in night-time security operations.

A number of people gathered in Saraki area of the district in protest against the killing of a tribal elder, his brother and three sons during a night time operation and to demand investigation. They termed overnight operations as kangaroo courts.

Farooq, brother of the slain tribal elder, said he lost six members of his family in an overnight operation 14 months ago but no investigation was launched into the incident and no evidence about those killed was shared with them.

“We knocked at every door of the government during these 14 months, but no one gave us a positive or negative response, if there is a government, a president, a defense minister, a governor, intelligence agency and others, you must show the crimes of the victims and I will forgive you and will say nothing to you,” he said.

Khalil, son of the victim tribal elder, Qumandan Naim, said that they had several times visited the office of Afghanistan) or the intelligence agency was not allowing them to do so.

“I visited AIHRC five times and they told us that they would seriously investigate the incident, but finally they told me that the NDS does not allow the commission to investigate it,” he said.

A tribal elder, Walijan, said that people did not oppose night operations, but they were against inaccurate operations.

About a night raid on Monday night, he said two civilians, both of them shopkeepers, were killed in the operation in Sahak area as well as some people suffered financial losses.

“If someone is suspected of having links with Taliban, there is court, government and law, they should arrest the person and treat them according to the law,” he said.

Ahmadullah Ahmadi, Paktia representative in Youths Parliament, said that such incidents were main reason of the growing distance between the public and the government.

He also asked the Taliban to avoid fights in areas where civilians could suffer casualties or financial losses.

Dawlat Khan Zadran, chief of Zurmat district, also said that mostly inaccurate night raids caused civilian casualties and financial losses. He said such operations were launched without their coordination.

Zadran said the problem had been shared with the local administration and they had promised to launch such operations in coordination with him in future.

The Paktia local administration had also earlier said that such operations were conducted by foreign forces without their coordination.

Mds/ma