By Amena Shams (an activist of RAWA), January 4, 2006


Dr Najibullah Lafraie:
Fundamentalist in the Guise of Academician



On September 18, 2005, I left for New Zealand to proudly represent RAWA. New Zealand, one of the few countries RAWA had not yet been to. I had been invited by the New Plymouth Regional Council. I left for New Zealand with an image of a very developed and beautiful country in the world. I thought the country, owing to its peace- loving politics, had almost never been involved in international hypocritical and violent games. I had read that New Zealanders are extra civilized, peace-loving and humanists. On my arrival at Auckland, I found them more civilized, warm and friendly than what I had thought.

With New Plymouth members and other friends at Auckland as well as Wellington, I really felt as if I am surrounded by RAWA or some close relatives. On the second day of my stay, I wrote to RAWA that we had come across one of the most loving and warm-hearted group of friends here in New Zealand. Andy, Dr. Love Chilli, Karen, Asma, Sandra and tens of others whose honest friendliness and care in fact was their concern for the people particularly the women of Afghanistan and RAWA- is unforgettable.

One of the reasons I consider my trip successful was the agreement reached on the establishment of “RAWA's Supporters in New Zealand". However, my trip full of excitement generating, among other things from tireless efforts of RAWA didn't last long. On September 28th a friend from Amnesty International informed me that Najibulah (she didn't tell me his surname or title), a country fellow of mine, living in New Zealand, is interested in meeting me. Naturally, I accepted it since meeting an Afghan in the other corner of the world was a privilege. To meet him, we had to go to Otago University. I didn't recognize the man but when he introduced himself as Dr Najibulah Lafraie, member of the “Jamiat-e Islami"(a fundamentalist-terrorist Islamic party under the leadership of Rabbani), I was shocked. Not because of fear since I knew fulfilling terrorist activities for the criminal fundamentalists is not easy thing in the Western countries. I was rather shocked to see one of the most dangerous fundamentalists occupying an academic place in the university of a very developed country. I was deeply saddened. How the foreign minister of a bloody, rapist, oppressive Islamic regime in Afghanistan imposed at gun-point from 1992-1996, was teaching at a university with 18,000 students from different parts of the world? At that very moment, I felt like screaming in front of four million New Zealanders telling them: wake up! how come you have allowed a killer to put his dirty foot on your soil and that too as a university professor? Have you forgotten that Najibulah Lafraie is the brother in-creed of Osama Bin Ladin, Mullah Omar, Gulbaddin Hekmatyar, Ali Khamenai and other religious fascists?

Though Lafraie looks stylish in suit and tie, as if trying to play the “civilized" and “democratic" man, yet he is hypocrite. Whether you like it or not, this university professor at Otago symbolizes a philosophy and politics that for an Afghan means rape, plunder, bloodshed and barbarity.

Unfortunately, I got to know about it towards the end of my trip. I had no access, before I left for Australia, to media so that I could tell the people and government of New Zealand that if you are honest in ‘fighting terrorism' and in supporting the suffering Afghan people, expel Dr. Najibulah Lafraie from your country. Presence of individuals like him in New Zealand especially as a professor of university, is a stigma on your country's reputation. His place alongside with Osama, Mullah Omar, Gulbaddin, Rabbani, Sayyaf, Qanooni, Dr.Abdullah, Khalili, Zia Massoud and other criminal fundamentalists is absolutely in the international court.

Meeting Lafraie in Dunedin city revived another painful fact: “fight against terrorism" by the United States and Allies is double standard.

If the United States and its allies are sincere and honest in their opposition to fundamentalist terrorism, then why they have granted asylum to all those “Parchami and Khalqi" (members of puppet parties of the former USSR) criminals bosses as well as the criminal ideologues of the Taliban and “Northern Alliance"?

Right now tens of such criminals are living in the United States, Canada and many European countries enjoying privileges. But the refugees, who are the victims of these criminals, confront numerous problems and even deported. Lafraie is one such example set by New Zealand.

If the West in its “fight against terrorism" was not hypocrite and was sincere in the welfare of Afghan people as well as establishment of democracy and women's freedom in Afghanistan, then instead of innocent individuals or low-rank terrorists, today people like Najibullah Lafraie should have been languishing at Gauntanamo. For their shocking crimes, they should be in dock. But on the contrary, Najibullah Lafraie is contaminating New Zealand and its academic environment and his brothers-in-creed like Khalili, Zia Massoud, Mohaqiq, Qanooni, Sayyaf or Abdullah, Rashid Dostom, General Daud, Ismail and number of other murderers serve as advisors and ministers in Karzai's cabinet or have reached the parliament.

On my return, owing to health reasons, I couldn't write a report on my visit to New Zealand and Australia to express my heartfelt gratitude to RAWA's supporters in both countries for their valuable and admirable work.

But now that Najibullah Lafraie, in a rare show of shamelessness, has threatened RAWA supporters in Australia and is trying to put a mask on his fundamentalist face, I am compelled to write not only about our conversation but also to reject his statement. I hope it will also attract the attention of Mr. Throman Holi who as a lawyer of Najibullah Lafraie has asked our supporters in Australia to remove an article about Najibullah Lafraie from their website and apologies this “foreign minister" of the criminals and killers.

Hence it is better Mr. Throman Holi first and foremost regards RAWA an organization that will always expose individuals like Najibullah Lafraie, and he should remember that RAWA is ready to propound its accusation against Najibullah Lafraie as the “foreign minister" of the most brutal and sick Islamic party in any court in New Zealand or in any part of the world on the condition that such court is free from religious fascist domination and influence.

First, some important points from the meeting with Najibullah Lafraie:

He introduced himself like this: I am Dr Najibullah Lafraie, member of Jamiat-e-Islami according to you a fundamentalist.

I asked: According to us or the people of Afghanistan and the world?

NL: People were also talking of RAWA as Maoist organization but now it is clear that it is an active human rights organization.

A.Sh: Not people but you, Islamic parties were saying this because RAWA was exposing you from the very beginning, saying that if you people managed to capture Kabul, it would be worse than the Russian time. Meena was also telling the world “don't support them because if they come to power, people would forget the Russians and their puppet regime's oppression…." People now have recognized their enemy no matter what Islamic prefix or suffix is used.

NL: But well, we were thinking something else, we were not able to do something. But it was not that bad too, as you say.

A.Sh: God, the people of the world and Afghanistan only know what happened to them from 1992-96. No one, by any means can whitewash that dark era.

NL: But well, some mistakes were committed not by the leaders but by some young militias.

A.Sh: Mistakes? Raping women, looting poor people, destroying Kabul… and you call them mistake? For RAWA and the people of Afghanistan it was not a mistake but a crime. And all the Islamic parties including “Jamiat-e- Islami" are responsible for these crimes.

NL: No, no Mrs. Shams, we cannot call all that a crime. Islamic parties and “Jamiat-e-Islami" have done nothing wrong, especially all the leaders were only fighting for peace. There were some mistakes for which you cannot held the leaders responsible.

Sayyaf and Massoud
Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a current U.S. ally, was among the mujahedeen leaders in power in Afghanistan- the ones who welcomed Osama bin Laden to Afghanistan in 1996 from Sudan, where he had been forced to leave under U.S. pressure. Sayyaf, whose men carried out brutal atrocities during the mujahedeen's rule, was a close ally of Ahmed Shah Massoud, on the rights in this photograph, whose men also carried out brutal acts.
“I is for Infidel" by Kathy Gannon

A.Sh: Who do you hold responsible? Every young militia belonged to an Islamic party, organization or association which had a leader. What should we tell those mothers who say that my young daughter was raped by the “Jamiat" or “Shora-e-Nizar" men? Who we should hold responsible? What we should tell those mothers, fathers and sisters who have lost their beloved ones during fighting among “Jamiat" and Islamic party of Gulbaddin? What should I tell a girl I met at Afghanistan embassy in Islamabad who said while crying “from my family, one brother who was left alive after all the wars, was shot by Ahmad Shah Massoud's men in toilet"? Who should be responsible for all these crimes committed by young militia? In our opinion only and only Ahmad Shah Massoud, Rabbani, Gulbaddin and the like are responsible.

NL: No, no, I don't agree with this, “Ustad" (professor) and Amer Sahib (Ahmad Shah Massoud) have done nothing wrong.

A.Sh: But in our opinion the so-called leaders and Massoud as the head of Shoria-e-Nizar are responsible for the destruction of Afghanistan from 92-96.

NL: No, no, making such a judgment about Amer Sahib is like saying that black is white.

Afterward Lafraie while admiring Massoud's achievements said: “we had a meeting with Ostad (Burhanidin Rabani) in Peshawar, when some one came and said that Massoud wanted to talk to him on phone. We would call him (Massoud) as Amer Sahib had told Ustad (Professor) that Dr.Najib's government is ready to unconditionally hand over the power, he wants no violence, now make a decision and do something. If Amer Sahib was a selfish man, he could take over himself?"

A.Sh: Very good, but wait a moment, Najib's government was ready to hand over the power peacefully and without any dispute, then all the wars, killings and crimes were what for?

NL: Well, what we were thinking didn't happen, we were unable to do something about it.

When he again wanted to talk about Amir Sahib's “achievements", I interrupted him and told him: “I only ask you: who we should hold responsible for the massacre of the miserable people of Afghanistan especially the Hazara people?

NL: Well, you can blame Amir Sahib for that mistake.

A.Sh: Look, you simply consider the killing of more than 800 innocent people a mistake. For us it was not a mistake but a heinous crime. Let's suppose for a moment that it was a mistake, even then it establishes Massoud as war criminal in the history of Afghanistan.

NL: No, no, you can say so about Amir Sahib's commander, Qaseem Fahim.

A.Sh: How come Fahim became so much wild that went out of Amir Sahib's control? Because Fahim was sure of having a powerful backer and he knew that whatever he did, there was no one to stop him. Not only Fahim, but Qanooni, Abdullah and others like Fahim should be condemned.

Have you heard of the Human Rights Watch's recent report?

NL: Yes, we also know who they are.

A.Sh: Any way, they are not stupid or ignorant people. Their recent report “Blood-Stained Hands: Past Atrocities in Kabul and Afganistan's Legacy of Impunity" is all based on evidence and eyewitness reports. In this report Massoud, Rabbani, Gulbaddin, Fahim, Sayyaf, Khalili all have been recognized as destructors of Afghanistan from 1992-96.

Gulbaddin Hekmatyar
Hekmatyar is sworn in as prime minister in 1996 by Burhanuddin Rabbani. Looking on is Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a current U.S. ally. Hekmatyar was sworn in after four years of brutal factional fighting that killed 50,000 Afghans. He was fighting both Rabbani and Sayyaf.
“I is for Infidel" by Kathy Gannon

NL: Well, Mrs. Shams, this discussion is very long. Tell me about your trip, what is the purpose of your visit? I searched on “Google" and found out that you are working with a NGO? You are a doctor. Aren't you?

A.Sh: No, I haven't finished my studies yet. I am here on the invitation of RAWA supporters and Amnesty International.

NL: A friend told me that you have come on behalf of the government of Afghanistan and the government of New Zealand has organized your trip.

I was happy for the fact that if he would know I was RAWA activist, he would never have dared to talk about himself in person to me like that because he surely knew that I would expose his real face as a fundamentalist terrorist and violator of human rights.

Talking with him any more was useless.

Now, let's take a look at Dr. Najibulah Lafrai's letter to SAWA (Support Association for the Women of Afghanistan):

From the very beginning though not fully confessing, he does admit the existence of “criminal elements" among the Mujahideen ranks. But I want to ask the bloody and treacherous era's foreign minister:

When a party, having in its ranks so many criminal elements, is capable of giving a whole country a blood bath, such a party must be led by a handful of criminals. Therefore, all commanders and responsible men and women affiliated with that party, must be terrorists and murderous, not just a number of its “elements". If not so, you Mr.Lafraie better bring to light that “Jamait-e-Islami", Sayyaf's, Khalili's or Dostom's party, or any other constituent of “Northern Alliance", having tried and punished even one of these “criminal elements" for committing heinous atrocities.

I ask you again instead of your heroes and leaders:

When you had the disgrace of being “foreign minister" and were shamefully enjoying privileges as “foreign minister", did you ever warned or reminded your hero Massoud or Rabbani that they had to expel “criminal elements" from among the Mojahidden's ranks? If yes, what were their response and your reaction?

Our people and the people of the world know answers to these questions. In fact neither your leaders nor you, believed even one single “criminal element" existed in your ranks. You were busy hushing up rapes, crimes, corruption, and dishonesty with the name of religion on your lips. You were busy wrapping all those crimes in the golden cover of religion since this tactic helped silence people. Since no ‘criminal element' was expelled from your ranks, you therefore have no convincing argument to plead not guilty. Hence you, your hero Massoud, and leaders have blood on your hands.

Only by admitting the presence of “criminal elements" within “Jamiat-e- Islami", that too only partially after the passage of ten years in a short letter, you can not prove that either you or your heroes were not involved in terrorist activities.

If you were a person with conscience and a humane heart, not even for five days, let alone five years, you would have tolerated the slot of foreign minister in the most treacherous regime on the face of earth. If you were not a supporter and “foreign minister" of the “criminal elements", then why you did not resign from your post as Commander Abdul Haq did ?On the contrary, for five years you kept trying your best to achieve political and international credibility for them. Why?

Very good, let's forget the past. If you don't lie and your words are not to deceive a developed country and academic institution, and to display yourself a bit “civilized" and save your skin, then please do expose not so many but only and only 10 of the “criminal elements" of “Jamiat-e-Islami" and “Shora-e- Nizar" who were unchastely drunk in the blood of 65,000 of their victims in Kabul alone.

Massoud is a hero for you, many criminal warlords and their international supporters. But he is not hero for our people. We not only don't consider him a hero but even have protested against anyone jointly praising RAWA and Massoud. For instance, we protested against Vanguard, the publication of the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) that printed an entire text of RAWA statement simultaneously with an article admiring Massoud. We wrote to them that if their position is to defend a fundamentalist, then they should not bother “defending" RAWA.

Lafraie is sowrn by Gulbuddin the so-called prime minister
APF photo, July 12, 1996: Lafraie (1st from right) is sowrn as foreign minister in the cabinet of so-called Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (2nd from left), the most wanted terrorist of Afghanistan.

Criticizing one of “Jamiat's" leaders Abdul Hafiz Mansoor's pamphlet about Massoud was a good excuse for us to write an analytic and documentary article in “Payam-e Zan" in which we have proved that Massoud is not a different piece than from that of other killer fundamentalist. He is not popular. It is the West that imposes him on Afghan people as “hero". His most important “heroic resistance" was led by CIA (“Times Magazine", June 11, 1984), had practical cooperation with the Central Asia's most barbarian fundamentalists. The blood of thousands of people in Afshar and the anti-fundamentalists intellectuals shed by his faction in Panjshir is enough to establish him as a shame like Gulbaddin, Rabbani, Sayyaf, Khalili etc. in the history of Afghanistan.

Unless you reply “Payam-e Zan's" write-up on Massoud without using Quran, and Hadith and Islamic verses but well reasoned and documented, your attempt to establish him as hero looks like a religious verdict that can not be challenged by any rational means. Your Khad-style attempt to establish Massoud as a “hero" at gun point and through US support tantamount to subjugating and scaring people. This is an attempt to silence people and deprive them of the courage to expose a bogus hero.

Najibullah Lafraie you are talking about yours and your family's suffering which in comparison with the suffering of our people and even with what I have gone through in 25 years of my life, is nothing and seems like a joke. You have lost one of your brothers in a land mine explosion by the Russians, but I have lost a 14- year old brother, three uncles, a brother in-law and a maternal uncle of mine in the fight against Russians; a 20 year old brother of mine lost one of his feet during your bloody years of ruling; four of my uncles were put in prison by your comrades-in-ideology i.e. the Taliban for reading “Payam-e Zan" and were tortured; only after the fall of Taliban, they were released; during the same period my father was tortured and humiliated; had the people in the region not interfered, he would have been killed.

Except you and your “brothers", anyone else can imagine the suffering and difficulties my family and I as a member of RAWA have gone through.

My husband, living in Pakistan for many years, has suffered at the hands of Pakistani police and secret agencies- the same agencies which trained your hero “Amer Sahib" and sent them to Afghanistan as their lackeys and finally imposed them on our people on 28 April 1992. I don't want to talk about it because these painful memories are the story of any RAWA member living and working in Pakistan.

You are talking about your family's “displacements" but forget to mention how much money as “foreign minister" you have stashed. Also, it was owing to your privileged position that you could take all your family safe and sound and with respect-which you never deserved- to New Zealand. Again, owing to the “foreign ministerial" slot and perhaps the advice of the American officials you were recommended for a place at Otago university. It also shows that giving a damn to important tasks like ridding your party of “criminal elements", you preferred comfortable and peaceful life in New Zealand and a place at Otago University. Of course, you had the “right" to have such things because you could see that how Rabbani, Zia Massoud, Khalili, Dr. Abdulah, Fahim, Qanooni, Sayyaf and all your “brothers-in-creed" not merely escaped trial, prison and execution but were rewarded with higher positions in the government with the support of “ISAF" and Hamid Karzai.

But we members of RAWA like the majority of our oppressed people remain either displaced inside or refugees in Pakistan and Iran. Many of us, having lived for brief periods in rented houses at Kabul, had to go to other provinces owing to meager finances hindering our work. And it naturally has made our work much slower and difficult. With the miseries of our people in mind, we have always tolerated these challenges and hard life without complaining. Only the need to expose your deceiving words prompted me to narrate parts of my life story.

You say that your wife and children have lived in hell-like conditions in Peshawar and experienced rocket in Kabul. Mr. ex- “foreign minister", right now hundreds thousands of our ill-fated people and a number of our members are living in “hell-like conditions" in the camps in North Western Frontier province of Pakistan. But fact is that neither you nor your family ever experienced “hell-like condition". You were on “Jamait-e-Islami" leadership, a party getting the biggest share of ISI-CIA's support after Gulbaddin's party. Today Burhanidin Rabbani and other “Jamait" bosses are considered millionaires. Didn't you get any share in the loot in the name of Jehad to afford your family a comfortable life in Peshawar and Islamabad?

The presidential and parliamentary elections both proved and convinced even the very optimistic people that Qanooni, Ahmad Shah Ahmad Zai, Sayyaf, Khalili, Mohaqiq & Co. have stashed unbelievable amount of money during the last 20 years. You too as an “adopted" son of Rabbani, and a “foreign minister" of criminals and killers, were living with your family in the best condition in Pakistan. Your talk about “hell-like conditions" in Peshawar is nothing more but a joke. No one will take it seriously.

In Kabul, your family was living in hiding for 12 month! Oh! What a big tragedy!

But Mr. Minister, do you know that in a Kabul dominated by criminal warlords headed by Qanooni, Dr. Abdullah, Sayyaf, Khalili & Co., and owing to the presence of Khad, and the Jehadi criminal commanders, RAWA even today has to work and live clandestine or semi-clandestine. “Payam-e-Zan" is published and distributed secretly!

During the resistance war against Russia, a terrorist from “Jamiat-e-Islami", known as Engineer Rahim, threatened bookshops in Islamabad not to sell “Payam-e-Zan" and other RAWA publications. At present, the likes of Engineer Rahim, especially in Kabul, are hounding those selling “Payam-e-Zan".

If wild Taliban deserve a spit on the face for causing misery and trouble for the family of the foreign minister of religious murderers! It is even big shame when criminal “Northern Alliance" and accomplices still don't leave RAWA in peace!

In our opinion, Jenny Shipley's voice in New Zealand's parliament was the most rightful voice. We are sure that if it was not for your Americans contacts and their deal with certain officials in New Zealand, you as one of the important heads of the terrorist and religious fascist bands, would have been deported from New Zealand as well. Just like you were not allowed to live in Australia. The right place for you is indeed the Hague Court.

We have no doubt that a day will come when you and your friends will be punished for the crimes committed during 92-96 era by a national or international court of justice. By then, however, it will be too late for the government of New Zealand and the officials of Otago University to beg an apology from our people for giving you a chance to live in that country and teach at the university.

You write that despite many other preoccupations, wanted to see me in courtesy, in line with “Afghan tradition of hospitality"!

But I must say as mentioned in our conversation, I didn't know that the person I was going to meet was Najibullah Larfraie, “Jamait-e-Islami's" member and foreign minister of five most horrific and dark years in the history of Afghanistan. Otherwise, I would have refused meeting you with contempt, or I would have asked to talk to you only in front of a gathering and media. Please don't give a bad name to “Afghan tradition of hospitality", Mr. Lafraie! Our people and the people of the world have well seen your interest in this tradition from 1992-1996!

Mr. Lafraie! Having exposed themselves in the eyes of Afghan people, the fundamentalists have no option but to call us “Maoist". Some shamelessly even call us “prostitutes". This clearly shows their distress at RAWA's bold exposures. Therefore, it is not important for us that you too call us “Maoist" .When you write: “I appreciate RAWA currently focusing on humanitarian work", you are indirectly showing fatigue, like your “brothers", at naming RAWA as “Maoist". But hope you will always remember that we until the plague of fundamentalism is eliminated in our country, will never get tired of exposing all the criminal bosses including yourself.

You claim that haven't forced your daughters to wear scarf! It is a big lie because: Was it not that during your “Islamic emirate" you were forcing burqa and scarf on women and making them disappear from TV as the first measure of your “Islamic Revolution"? Why even today women have no freedom to dress according to their will and go outside without Burqa and scarf? Why your “brothers" still act like Taliban's Amr-e Bilmarof (virtue police) all across the country as an excuse to harass and insult women and young girls?

You were the foreign minister of a fascist religious government that imposed hijab on all women even small girls. If you were hypocrite only then you could allow your girls go out without hijab.

I often take notes re important things happening during my trips. After my meeting with Lafraie, I did the same. I therefore still remember when he said ‘I am Dr Najibullah Lafraie, member of Jamiat'. I can not gain anything by attributing this sentence to Mr. Lafraie.

Mr. Lafraie! It does not matter if you were not member of Rabbani's Jamiat. You were nevertheless ‘foreign minister' of killing fields called Afghanistan. That crime suffices to condemn you to eternal hate of Afghan people and RAWA. A person not having the party card of a criminal party still serving the government of that party is even a big crime. Therefore, your attempts to prove that you were not party member are useless as it would not absolve you of the responsibility. Your past association will remain scar on your face.

But really, what happened that after 1996 you no longer consider yourself a member of that criminal party? If you had resigned, all would have known about it because severingr of relations with the party as their foreign minister would have attracted lot of media attention. Still strongly defending “Jamiat", Rabbani, the “hero" and other party bosses clearly shows that there were no differences between you and them. Therefore, claiming that you are not anymore with “Jamiat" is coquettish rather than a serious and meaningful expression of your opinion. You don't consider yourself a member of “ Jamiat" any more but “Jamiat" considers you as not only an ordinary member but a leading member, “foreign minister" of their destructive years. Who knows you are already named by Mr Zalmai Khalilzad as foreign minister of Afghanistan or awarded some ambassadorship in future. We already have seen how unfamiliar faces appeared as cabinet members spokespersons of Karzai drawing as fat salaries as 20,000 dollars a month.

You ask “is being a member of Jamiat a crime?" Yes, it is not merely a crime but also a treacherous and unforgivable act. “Jamiat" membership is same as membership of any country-selling group, Taliban, fundamentalists, Parcham or Khalaq factions. The five year rule inflicting torture, plunder, rapes, violence, deaths, insecurity and violations-and you were part of it-testify to what we say. Qaseem Fahim and Gulbaddin are mere pretexts you use to mask the anti-democratic, anti-human face of your regime.But it is not possible though. Did the “Jamiat" and “Hizb-e- Islami" (Islamic Party) not rule in coalition? Wasn't Gulbaddin your “prime minister"? Weren't you a ‘foreign minister' in that disgraceful cabinet? Is there any ideological or political difference between Gulbaddin, Sayyaf and Khalili? Why you did not expose Qaseem Fahim if he was not your shining star? Why you have not revealed the truth to Prof. Mali so that he could also introduce Jamiat-related “criminal elements" in his book? Why have you not protested to President Karzai when he granted Qasim Fahim the title of “Marshal" and inducted him in the Senate? No! You all belong to the same family of crooks and criminals. One must be indeed shameless enough to accept Sayyaf, Khalili, Atta Mohammad and Dostum as brothers while not honoring Fahim and Gulbaddin with same brotherly affection. Mr. Lafraie, when you only accuse Gulbaddin and Taliban for religious ‘extremism', you make even Afghan kids laugh. When you do so, you are dancing to the US today's tunes.

You say that Prof William Mali consider “Jamiat as modernised Islamic party". There is no dearth of ignorant, ill-intentioned professors attempting to give human face to fascist face of fundamentalists like “Jamiat". Such professors blow Rabbani and Massoud out of proportion. Right now an Iranian, Reza Deqqatti and his French and non French colleague at “Aina Centre" in Afghanistan have dedicated themselves to “Jamiat" cause. They are more Catholics than pope! They assign Massoud and Rabbani positions occupied by gods in Greek mythology. They keep publishing books and producing films to prove the greatness of Massoud and Rabbani. Nor Prof Mali or Reza Deqqatti would ever be able to wipe the blood off the hands of the two as USA and Karzai have not succeeded in whitewashing the past record of Fahim and Ismail khan by granting the title of Marshal to the former and showering praise on latter.

You claim that circumstances did not allow you to work on laying ideological basis. I wonder who then was formulating “Jamiat" policies and implementing them? You as “adopted son and foreign minister" of Rabbani were so closed to him, you were also member of the “Jamiat's" central committee , it is therefore hard not to believe that you were not one of, if not the main, party ideologues. Even if you were not one, it is not important and this fact does not free you from the responsibility of five blackest years of Afghanistan.

I should remind you again: you could plead not guilty had you not been holding the office of ‘foreign minister', had you not been on the “Jamiat" central committee, had you not compromised, had you exposed the ‘criminal elements' at that time.

To us fundamentalism is: reliance on foreign powers + being reactionary + terrorism + ignorance + anti-women + anti-democracy + heroin lordism.

You say that “civil war was imposed on us". As I told you in person, who indeed ‘imposed' it? Why you did not attempt to escape the ‘imposition' of civil war? Your ‘hero' and all of you claimed that when Taliban reached Kabul, in order to avoid bloodshed in Kabul, you retreated. Great! If it is not a lie and is not a justification for your weakness in the face of Taliban threat then why you failed to do the same when civil war was being ‘imposed'? Why at that time you refused to retreat so that people of Afghanistan and rest of the world could understand that “Jamiat", Rabbani , Massoud and of course Lafraie were against war and were not power hungry. This would also have isolated the war mongers.

During our conversation, you were refusing to take responsibility for those five hell years and in your letter too you attempt to defend and justify “Jamiat's" role in those years but in quiet an unskilled and childish way. According to your version, the heinous crimes, following the collapse of Dr. Najib regime, were mostly committed by the forces opposing the government in Kabul. Fortunately, you yourself added that the government soldiers also committed violations (though you claim that Massoud was against all those activities).

Mr Lafraie! I am compelled to ask you few questions over and over again:

You confess to grave violations committed by “Jamiat" under joint leadership of Massoud, Rabbani and yourself were minor compared to the crimes committed by other Islamic parties. Lets suppose ‘most' of the crimes were committed by your Prime Minister Gulbaddin, army chief Rashid Dostum, and your comrades-in-arms like Khalili and Sayyaf. Would you mind dilating upon the “Jamiat's" share in the crime? Also, how many of the 65,000 innocent lives taken in Kabul were claimed by “Jamiat" and His Excellency the Foreign Minister? Thousands of women and children were kidnapped, raped, molested. I wonder how much responsibility you lay on “Jamiat" in your opinion? If both Massoud and you were opposed to these grave violations, why don't you expose these ‘criminal elements' in “Jamiat" ranks now? During the conversation, you named Fahim. But even in this single case, you refuse to be consistently honest since you refuse to mention Fahim in your letter as a ‘criminal element' opposed to Massoud. Only a fool will believe that all the crimes, were committed by “Marshal" Fahim while Rabbani, Massoud, Qanooni, Abdulah, you and the rest were unaware of it, were innocent or were unable to do something about it.

Leadership of a party cannot be absolved of crimes committed by the party even if leadership was not engaged in executing the crimes. Military wing of a party merely implements the decisions taken by its leadership. It is, therefore, party's leadership that can also guide a party to the path of crimes. If crimes committed by Massoud, Fahim and Co. in Afshar and Karta-e-say were outcome of an individual's initiative, one can simply ask: why Mr.Lafraie, being on the party leadership, you kept and still keep silent? This silence makes you in the eyes of Afghan people as a big criminal as Massoud and Fahim. You will go dawn in history as their counterpart. Brechet says: You are criminal when you know but don't say.

As I have said above there would be many ‘intellectuals' ready to befriend you. Did professor Laili Helms (niece of CIA director and a relative of Zahir Shah) not become a mouthpiece for Taliban and invite a young terrorist, Hashemi to her university? So it is not strange that professor Mali and professor Amin Saikal provide a photo opportunity with the foreign minister of filthy killers. After all, professor Mali is the one who describe anti-democratic, human rights violator, criminal “Jamiat" as a modernist Islamic party while Saikal never exposed “Jamiat" atrocities. He is your colleague-in-thought. This also explains his appointment in Australia as Afghanistan ambassador.

However, this photo session is not that important. The important photo is one where you pose with Gulbaddin Hikmatiar and your Pakistani and Iranian godfathers. This photo is a shame forever for any pro-democracy, anti-fundamentalist and independence loving Afghan. Have you any explanation for this photo? Also, I wonder what double-morals would you employ to explain the photo session Massoud had with Gulbaddin Hikmatiar, your godfather Pakistan's military dictator general Zia's son Ejazul Haq. While Rabbani could, without any qualms and feeling shame invite Gen Hamid Gul ISI director as his adviser and military commander, it should not shame you to be hand in glove with Pakistani, Iranian and Saudi Arabian fundamentalists.

To us, fundamentalism is not orthodox observance of Islam or defending “hijab" by families. To us fundamentalism is: reliance on foreign powers + being reactionary + terrorism + ignorance + anti-women + anti-democracy + heroin lordism.

No Afghan will believe when you swear to God and Quran and say you did not, on purpose, killed even an insect. The blood of the people of Kabul shed by your party and company, and you being the “foreign minister" and leading member of “Jamiat" is the criterion for judging you and therefore you cannot absolve yourself of blood spoilt in Kabul streets. One who can not harm an ant should never stay silent on the crimes committed by Sayyaf, Khalili, Dostum and rest of the “brothers". Mr. Lafraie! You were an important part of the machine that propelled frightening crimes. Von Ribbentrop was also Hitler's foreign minister and apparently did not fire any bullet but was the first person sentenced to death in Nuremburg Trials.

This is what we have to say to you. Now let's have a quick glance at the Afghan people judgment according to the Human Rights Watch (Appendix 1) that I hope you wouldn't regard it as a “Maoist" organization. Also I would like to draw your attention to some segments from "I is for Infidel" by Kathy Gannon that I recently read it (Appendix II).



Afghanistan's Odious Days

March 8, 1993: Najibullah Lafraie (standing R) among so-called Afghan leaders Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Burhanuddin Rabbani and Sibghatullah Mujaddedi (sitting), also seen in the picture are their foreign god-fathers Alleaddin Brojerdi, Iranian deputy foreign minister, Pakistan Prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Saudi Prince Turki-al-Faisal.
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