August 12, 2022

Talban chief’s murder is a wake up call for government

topic:	Human Rights
located:	Afghanistan
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

​Just days before the first anniversary of their oppressive rule, the Taliban in Afghanistan lost one of the its most senior leaders, Rahimullah Haqqani - a mastermind of the suicide ​attackers ​squad of the group - ​in ​a copycat attack​ imitating those that he orchestrated for many years. 

​Videos circulating on social media, confirmed by Taliban insiders, suggest Haqqani was busy with his preaching lectures at his highly guarded home in Kabul when a person among the attendees detonated an explosives he was carrying in a method that was reportedly previously promoted by Haqqani himself to use against American and Afghan forces. 

This should serve as a wakeup call for the Taliban, and all war-mongering forces, that war and other forms of violence will not lead them or the country anywhere - it is a vicious cycle that will continue making rounds and crushing anyone and everyone involved. 

Afghanistan wants peace, an end to all forms and shapes of war, violence and oppression. A year of Taliban rule has been devastating for those living in the country and those Afghans in exile.

Moreover, one thing history of the war-ravaged country has proven is that violence cannot be ended with more violence. The history of Afganistan has repeatedly proven that violence cannot be ended with more violence - there must be an end to it. 

Someone needs to start laying down the arms and head towards acceptance and tolerance.

The Taliban, now in-charge of the country after the US withdrawal, is responsible before the needy and oppressed people of the country to fairly restart and conclude the peace process in a dignified and acceptable way.

The latest attack showed the Taliban is reaping what it sowed with hatred and extremism over the years. 

These consequences will continue to haunt the group repeatedly if it foolishly thinks it can overcome its past with crude use of force. 

The Taliban must reach out to all stakeholders with open arms, be accountable, and open to all sorts of criticism. It must prioritise peace negotiations, not necessarily with the same old corrupt warlords, but with true public representatives at every level across the country.

Free and independent press and women’s rights are not at all so-called ''western values" as the group continues to believe and propagate - these are the fundamental rights of all humans in the current age. 

However, this seems like a far out cry as the group continues to boast and quest for total domination without understanding or caring for the price Afghanistan has been made to pay.

Image by Sohaib Ghyasi

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