MAZAR-I-SHARIF - Top human rights official in Afghanistan Seema Samar on Thursday said no individual or group could amend the Constitution without completing the required legal process in this regard.
Samar, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission chief, attended the inauguration ceremony of a newly-constructed building for the AIHRC office in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province.
She asked the government to ensure the people were provided basic life facilities as human rights continued to be violated in the war-torn country on a large scale.
She said the concerns about human rights abuses in Afghanistan had reached new heights due to the increasing civilian casualties in the conflict. She named the perpetrators of civilian casualties as the insurgents, government and foreign forces.
Samar said 54 percent people of Afghanistan lived under the poverty line and as a result many people opted to indulge in drugs smuggling and other illegal activities.
A large number of areas were out of the government’s control where people were subjected to atrocities and their legal and human rights were openly violated, she said.
Samar also cautioned against trampling on people’s rights for the sake of achieving peace, saying no one had the right to make a political deal on the blood of Afghans.
She said those involved in massive war crimes should openly apologize to the nation and that women and the victims of the war should be present in peace talks besides the warring parties.
Balkh provincial council chief Mohammad Afzal Hadid said human rights abuses could end in Afghanistan if the war was stopped. (Pajhwok)