MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Kidnapped five and a half months ago in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, Abdul Rauf has turned 10 years old in captivity of his kidnappers.
Tribal elders from the Turkmen community council, including Abdul Rauf’s family, on Thursday protested in front of the Balkh governor’s office and accused the government of making false promises about the child’s recovery,
Mohammad Nabi, the child’s father, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the kidnappers had great power to change the mindset of even government leaders.
He added that the government had arrested a number of people in the case but released them without consulting them.
According to him, everyone from the president and vice-president Amrullah Saleh to the security chiefs all failed to keep their promises.
The father said he would no longer wait for the government and would approach the Taliban leadership and Daesh to determine his son’s fate.
Zohra, the mother of the abducted Abdul Rauf, also said she celebrated her son’s birthday with grief and tears.
She told Pajhwok Afghan News the government had done nothing to secure her son’s release and had only given them false promises.
She said they no longer trusted promises of the government leaders. She wondered how the government could run a country if it was unable to find a child.
Kamal Gunesh, head of the Turkmen Social Council, questioned why the entire government apparatus had failed to rescue a child. He said if the child was not released soon, they would once again launch large-scale protests.
Gul Rahman Hamdard, a member of the Wolesi Jirga from Balkh province, said a sit-in tent had been set up in front of the Balkh governor’s office for the past six months, but the fate of the child remained unknown.
Meanwhile, Balkh provincial council chairman Mohammad Afzal Hadid said that there were big hands behind Rauf’s abduction. He did not name anyone, but said there were suspicions that the case was politicized.
He called on security forces to take serious steps to free the child.
Pajhwok tried to get the opinion of the Balkh local government in this regard, but did not succeed.
Last week, Balkh Governor Farhad Azimi told the media that Abdul Rauf had been taken out of Balkh. He added that the issue was being pursued by the government leadership.
Earlier, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) had said ISIS was involved in Rauf’s abduction. The NDS also released the confessions of several detainees.
Abdul Rauf’s father, Mohammad Nabi said a number of people involved in the case had been arrested by the Taliban and had confessed to the crime.
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