KABUL - A day after the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Navi Pillay, expressed her concern over signs of increased human rights violations in Afghanistan, several MPs criticized the government for not putting a check on widespread human rights abuses and demanded action be taken to remedy the situation.
In addition to highlighting increased civilian casualties, violence against women and torturing of prisoners, Ms. Pillay expressed dissatisfaction with the government's failure to implement the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) Law and the appointments made to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC). Ms. Pillay made her comments while visiting Kabul on Tuesday, where she met with government officials and civil society activists as part of her trip to assess the state of human rights in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, Afghan Lawmakers cited the lack of efficient and stringent policies on human rights and the release of several Taliban leaders as some of the major reasons behind the challenges facing human rights protection in Afghanistan.
"Unfortunately, dozens of criminals have been released from the jails without any reason, they rejoined the armed opponents and are killing our people, this is the situation of human rights," MP Nahid Farid said.
In their session on Wednesday, some MPs said that a "culture of impunity" has enabled the increase in cases of human rights violations.
"Impunities granted to criminals and killers of the Afghan people have increased insecurity across the country," MP Ghulam Hussain Naseri said.
The release of Taliban insurgents from prisons in Afghanistan has been a common yet controversial issue in recent years. U.S. and coalition officials have been highly anxious about the releases, which they have considered irresponsible without proper mechanisms in place to ensure the insurgents don't rejoin the Taliban and continue their old ways. Several Afghan experts said that one of the major reasons behind the delay in handing over the responsibilities of Bagram Prison to the Afghan authorities was U.S. fear of a wave of releases.
In an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, Sharafudin Sharaf, the Badghis Police chief, recently confirmed that a senior Taliban commander by the name of Maulawi Ghulam Mohammad had rejoined the Taliban after being released from Bagram and was currently leading a force of over 400 militants. Since his release, Mr. Ghulam Mohammad is thought to have been responsible for the deaths of 13 Afghan National Police (ANP) officers.
The MPs urged the government, law enforcement and judicial entities to ensure efficient prosecution of criminals found guilty in cases related to human rights violations.
"It's the basic responsibility of the government of Afghanistan, we should consider ourselves responsible for the protection of human rights. It's our religious obligation, our religious obligation is our national obligation and also its an essential part of the Constitution," said Mirwais Yasini, the Deputy Speaker of the Lower House.
President Hamid Karzai has been pushing hard for the release of Taliban prisoners in Pakistan, in hopes of seeing progress in the peace process that has eluded him in his tenure thus far. Despite admonishments from the U.S. government, Pakistan has consented to Karzai's requests and already released seven Taliban prisoners this month. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also indicated that his government would soon release Mullah Baradar, the former second-in-command of the Taliban. (Tolo News)