KABUL - The Wolesi Jirga Economic Commission (WJECM) members were remembered on Saturday, with some lawmakers warning to disclose the reason behind the attack if the government continued to ignore their investigations.
At least 80 people, including legislators, were killed and over one hundred others wounded in an explosion near a sugar factory in northern Baghlan province in November 2009. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
WJEC head Syed Mustafa Kazimi and five members of the lower house -- Mohammad Arif Zareef, Nazak Mir Sarfaraz, Haji Abdul Mateen, Sahib-ur-Rahman and Sibghatullah Zaki -- were killed. Some teachers and school students were also lost their lives in the deadly explosion.
Addressing a gathering on the 9th anniversary of the attack, Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said security and intelligence personnel always promised investigations into such incidents, but no tangible work was done to unmask the perpetrators.
He denounced the individuals involved in the Baghlan killings as the enemies of Afghanistan who tried to stop the country’s development by killing teachers, students and lawmakers. He said the MPs had gone to Baghlan to assess the economic situation and present their suggestions.
Farhad Sakhi, 1st deputy chairman of the Senate, lashed out at the government and security institutions for their failure to arrest the individuals behind the Baghlan massacre over the past nine year.
He asked the government to investigate the killings of lawmakers and pay proper attention to the families of martyrs and wounded security forces.
Syed Ali Kazimi, brother of Mustafa Kazimi, slammed security agencies for ignoring the tragedy and said: “We demand every year the disclosure of findings, but no hope for investigation emerged during the Karzai presidency and the first two years of the unity government.
“Being relatives of martyrs, we know the people behind the incident. But we don’t know why the government did not want to disclose their names,” he asked. Kazimi warned if the government continued to ignore the tragedy, someone would be forced to break his silence and disclose everything. (Pajhwok)