KABUL - In the wake of last week’s terrorist attack on a military hospital in Kabul, the Afghan government and security leaders are coming under increasing pressure over their handling of security issues.
The Wolesi Jirga (lower house of parliament) on Monday severely criticized the government over its failure to stop the coordinated terrorist attack on Sardar Mohammad Daud hospital in Kabul, saying such attacks on highly-secured compounds shame the government.
Parliament speaker, Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, said the government has failed to seek cooperation from Afghanistan’s major allies such as the United States to prevent incidents of this nature.
Some lawmakers on Monday said that they are collecting signatures from their colleagues to impeach the security officials over the recent spate of attacks in the capital city that killed dozens.
“If I were the minister of defense, or the of head of the national directorate of security, or the minister of interior, I would submit my resignation over the incident that happened in the 400-bed hospital,” said MP Nawab Mangal
“The Honorable minister of defense of Afghanistan is sleeping 24 hours a day. I think, if we put him in a bag, close it and send it to another country, then the honorable minister will see that he has been taken to another country without a visa and passport,” said MP Humayoun Humayoun.
“The national unity government and our international partners, particularly the United States, have, despite signing the bilateral security and strategic cooperation partnership agreements, not been able to defend Afghanistan. That is shameful,” said house speaker Ibrahimi.
The lawmakers further said that the weak performance of the government in the security sphere is one of the main reasons for the increase in terror attacks in the major towns.
“Let’s conduct open voting for the dismissal of those who play with the blood of the nation because of their weakness and ignorance,” said MP Nahid Farid.
“Do you want that they (terrorists) target several hospitals or the national assembly hall or the office of the president or the president himself, before you (lawmakers) then come and say impeach these people?” asked MP Arif Rahmani.
“We have seen impeachments before, but we have to be realistic and work practically,” said MP Fawzia Kofi. (Tolonews)