Members of the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) on Wednesday voiced their displeasure over the recent decision by the National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) to categorize ethnic groups in the registration process of the new electronic ID card system.

Some MPs said this decision will create a new crisis in the country.

“The move by the NSIA is a risk to nation building; it will destroy unity among the people… the act is dividing tribes,” said one MP Khan Agha Rezayee.

“The government makes problems for people and divides tribes into categories. This is against the Constitution; it will fuel tribal discrimination. If government does not control this, the response will be very tough and uncontrollable, ” said Zalmay Noori, another MP.

“The NSIA’s decision is against the Constitution; 15 tribes are mentioned in the Constitution; the decision is against the law that we passed,” said Makhdom Abdullah Mohammadi, an MP.

However some MPs came out in support of the move.

“Some tribes want to see their tribe name on their ID cards,” said MP Niamat Karyab.

First deputy speaker of the house, Javid Jaihoon, meanwhile called on government to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

“We call on government to solve the problem based on the articles of the Constitution and to end concerns around this issue,” said Jaihoon.

According to MPs, government needs to encourage unity among tribes and avoid creating division.

This comes after the NSIA announced earlier this month that it had classified a number of ethnic groups and tribes into categories in the online registration form for new electronic ID cards.

Based on the list, all Pashtuns in Afghanistan are classified into one ethnic group but the rest of the groups such as Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks are each divided into several tribes.

Politicians are among those who believe the NSIA’s list “deliberately” fuels disunity among the people of Afghanistan especially as the organization has categorized ethnic groups based on their “villages, districts and tribes.”

Second Vice President Sarwar Danish said the list lacks “scientific and practical” elements and this in itself could lead to disputes in the country.

“Hasty decisions would question the government and create divisions and mistrust among our people,” Mohammad Hedayat, the head of Danish’s media office said.

Meanwhile, former Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani stated that the NSIA has intentionally planned to divide ethnicities based on districts and villages.

Atta Mohammad Noor, Chief Executive of Jamiat-e-Islami Party, claimed that the NSIA is not “aware of the difference between an ethnicity and place of residency.”

“This government organization is not yet aware of this important fact that there is a huge difference between an ethnicity and the residence of a group, and you can never count the name of the location as the ethnicity of a specific people,” said Ahmad Afzal Hadid, Head of Balkh Provincial Council.

Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, also spoke out against the NSIA’s decision and called the list a “mistake.”

Abdullah called on the organization to rectify the issue.

The NSIA, however, claimed that its decision was made at the request of the people.

“This decision was made as per the request of a number of tribal elders and the interpretation of the third part of Article 4 of the Constitution,” said Roeina Shahabi, the spokesperson for the NSIA.