AT News
KABUL: Hundreds of people in the central province of Bamyan staged rally to protest the killing of seven laborers in the eastern province of Nangarhar.
Armed men stormed a gypsum factory in the Sorkhrod district this week and shot seven of the laborers after tying their hands. All the victims were from Hazara ethnic group and from Bamyan province, according to reports that said other laborers were not targeted.
The protesters on Sunday called for punishment of the crime’s perpetrators.
Tens of tribal elders, religious scholars, rights activists and laborers in Bamyan gathered in front of human rights commission building.
They asked the world community, the United Nations and government of Afghanistaan to seriously prosecute the killing of laborers.
“We want justice from the government leaders. Life and job is the right of every citizen and the government is responsible for its protection. The laborers who just work to support their families should not be killed,” said Abdul Rahman Shahidani, a former member of parliament.
The protesters blamed Nangarhar officials for carelessness in the laborers’ security, calling for their prosecution.
Mohammad Asef Mohseni, a religious scholar in Bamyan condemned the killing of defenseless laboers as an act against all humane and Islamic principles. He accused the government of doing poor in security.
“”The government of Afghanistan is responsible for people’s lives and properties. Seven men who were slaughtered in Nangarhar were less important even than sheep for the government. When you claim you are Muslims, then why don’t you provide public security?” Mohseni said.
The protestors also called on the human rights commission to impartially investigate the crime and share its results with the martyrs’ families and with the people.
“We have assigned our colleagues in Nangarhar to share their assessments with the national and international sources,” said Mohammad Javad Dadgar, head of human rights commission’s Bamyan office.