HRC calls for judicial prosecution over Kabul’s deadliest bombing

The Human Rights Commission (HRC) has called for judicial prosecution of perpetrators of Saturday’s deadliest suicide attack on protesters in Kabul.

HRC called this incident a war crime; citing this crime should be prosecuted by the international criminal court.

“Under the 8th article of International criminal court, yesterday’s mass killing and slaughtering is a war crime, and should judicially be prosecuted,” said Sima Samar, head of HRC.

Sima Samar considered demonstration a civil right for Afghan people and seriously urged the National Unity Government for making efforts in providing the security of the people.

In the meantime, a number of religious scholars and residence of the country called Saturday’s attack against civilians a crime against humanity and Islam.

Religious scholars say killing of Afghan protesters in Kabul is a rejected and an unforgivable action.

“This is an inhumane action and has no permission in Islam,” said Habibullah Hesam, religious scholar.

In the meantime, inhabitants of Eastern and Northern provinces harshly condemned this action of the Daesh group.

Kabul was plunged into mourning Sunday after its deadliest attack for 15 years killed 80 people and left hundreds maimed, reigniting concern that the Islamic State group was seeking to expand its foothold in Afghanistan.

The bombings occurred as thousands of protesters had gathered to demand that a multi-million-dollar power line pass through their electricity-starved province of Bamiyan, one of the most deprived areas of Afghanistan.

The office of President Ashraf Ghani said that march organizers had been warned to call off the demonstration after intelligence was received that an attack was likely.

Saturday’s protest over a multimillion dollar power line, which demonstrators wanted to re-route through two provinces with large Hazara populations, had become a touchstone for a wider sense of injustice.

The demonstration took place under tight security, with much of Kabul blocked off. But there was disagreement in the Hazara community as well as in the government about whether it should have gone ahead given the obvious risk of an attack.