KABUL - First Vice-President Mohammad Yunus Qanuni on Friday said the killing of innocent civilians in Afghanistan had become a culture as many countrymen were being killed and wounded under various pretexts.

He was addressing participants of the first death anniversary of slain former provincial council chief of northern Baghlan province, Mohammad Rassoul Muhseni, who was killed last year in a suicide attack.

The Taliban had claimed responsibility for the suicide attack that took place near the provincial council office in Pul-i-Khumri, Baghlan’s capital, leaving another 12 people either killed or wounded.

Qanuni said it was painful hearing news about civilian casualties from across the country on a daily basis.

“There is another bitter reality that is the failure of our security organs to stop the killing spree of civilians over the past 13 years,” the VP said.

Earlier, Qanuni urged the Afghans to widely participate in the runoff presidential election if they wanted a positive change, end to terrorism and the preservation of nationality unity, culture values and the defence of motherland.

However, the VP warned certain elements across the border had started hatching conspiracies to scuttle the runoff vote.

“No conspiracy can stop the Afghans from taking part in the elections; they will go to polling stations and choose a candidate of their choice,” believed Qanuni, who asked the electoral bodies to avoid mistakes occurred during the first round of elections.

Leading presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, who was present on the occasion, complained that the government had neglected the cases of victims of terrorism.

In a reference to the killing of the former Baghlan council chief, Abdullah said no serious action had been taken on the cases of martyrs.

He said the people had been hoping that the government would investigate such cases and would give importance to them.

Abdullah asked the masses to vote for a candidate who could better feel their pain and establish a system in which they had stakes.

Ahmad Shah Massoud Foundation chief Ahmad Wali Massoud strongly criticised the government for failing to determine who were behind the chain kill system. (Pajhwok)