By Tariq Majidi
Over the past week, scores of Afghan civilians have been killed and wounded in terrorist attacks on a hotel, crowded streets and even inside the Kabul University campus.
A suicide attack on Hawashenasi road Sunday left three dead and 20 wounded. Two young sisters were among those killed. Relatives of the two girls, who were on their way to school when the attack took place, spoke out on Monday about their plight, pleading for financial assistance in order to pay for a proper funeral for their murdered loved ones.
The sisters were named Nargis and Yasemin, and both were attending primary school in Kabul. Neighbors and relatives of the two victims have said that the girls' father has a vegetable cart in the Kabul vegetable market, but that their family is impoverished. Although the sisters' two younger brothers work to help provide for the family, they still struggle to meet their 3,000 AFN monthly rent.
The uncle of the two girls, Said Agha, was the only relative home on Monday. He opened up to TOLOnews about his frustrations with the current government. "The government is corrupt, and if we had a proper government it would be able to maintain its security," he said. "Both Ashraf Ghani and (Abdullah) Abdullah are authoritarians."
The neighbors of the two girls, meanwhile, spoke about their ambitions and promising futures. "They had many hopes; they used to attend after school classes and wanted to become doctors in the future," one neighbor named Saidullah said.
Many others were wounded by the attack on Hawashenasi road on Sunday, such as Farid, who used to sell raisin juice off his small cart. He was a few meters away from the explosion when it occurred, and he said he would have surely died if there was not an armored NATO truck shielding him.
"I was first transferred to 200 Bestar hospital, but I was concerned about my family and kids so I decided to come home and rest here," Farid told TOLOnews. "I want the government to reimburse the wounded victims for the financial losses."
Muhammad Amin, a relative of one of the victims, raised questions about the Afghan government's strategy in partnering with the U.S., given the rapid deterioration of security seen since the signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) last fall. "Pakistan signed an agreement with the British and is still safe today, but we have signed an agreement with the United States before creating our cabinet and what have they done for us?" he asked.
In Parliament on Monday, lawmakers also raised concerns about increased security threats in the capital as well as elsewhere in the country.
"How long are we going to have this insecurity?" asked Ghazni MP Aref Rahmani. "We must have a comprehensive security plan that prevents the killing and bloodshed of our innocent people."
Nimroz MP Freshta Amini said worsening security conditions are the result of a lack of coherent strategy. "One of the reasons that the security is getting worse day-by-day is the absence of security programs," Amini said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has urged Afghan citizens to support and assist the security forces in their work. "Our security forces have not hesitated in maintaining security for their countrymen, but there are still terrorist attacks that result in the killing or wounding of our country men," MoI spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said. "We want our people to inform the ANSF about the terrorist attacks so that they can be prevented."
In the recent spate of Kabul attacks, over 20 individuals have lost their lives and close to 40 others have been wounded. The assault on the Kabul Park Palace guesthouse resulted in the deaths of 14 and wounding of several others. An explosion on the Kabul University campus left two professors wounded over the weekend. Then, on Sunday,an explosion in the Kart-e-Naw neighborhood was followed by the explosion on Hawashenasi road.