The attack on Kabul University killed 22 and wounded 22 others. Many families are mourning and our collective soul has been hurt by this horrible and inhuman incident. The so-called ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. The vice president, however, pointed the finger of blame at the Taliban, accusing them of the attack.
A Taliban spokesperson denied responsibility for the attacks, but what is certain is that we witnessed one of the most brutal attacks on an educational institution; an attack that devastated many families and killed a number of young people who had come to this institution with a thousand hopes. However, an equally brutal attack had been carried out on the Kawsar Danish educational center before. Forty-two countries condemned the attack, and the United States, Britain, Germany, and the European Union flew their flags at half-mast in sympathy for the mourning families.
What should not be forgotten is that such attacks, which are numerous, targeting civilian and educational center, and even hospitals, are the result of an ongoing war. The fact of the matter is that in a time of war and bloodshed, such attacks can be expected given the complexity of the war in Afghanistan. On the other hand, the countries influencing the affairs of Afghanistan are also responsible for such events. They have summed up their good-neighborliness in just a few empty slogans, and they do not know that the fire they have kindled today has started to engulf them. Those who are involved in such attacks are condemned in the face of history and human conscience, and as the saying goes, the unjustly shed blood of innocent people can never be washed away from these murderers.
The current war in Afghanistan has transgressed all standards of war and human morality. Innocent people are brutally targeted and no one is safe anywhere. The security forces are unable to contain such attacks, both because of their weakness and because the attacks are unpredictable.
To think that this will be the last attack is a false notion. The people of Afghanistan must be prepared for more such attacks in the future. The security agencies must do more to ensure the safety of the people. The countries of the region and influential institutions in the world must also make efforts to put the necessary pressure on the perpetrators of such crimes.
The blame-game that has been launched does nothing to alleviate the suffering of our people. All those who insist on the keeping the fire of war burning and all those who cannot provide security for the lives of the people, are somehow responsible for such incidents. Official statistics show that two million people in this land have been displaced by lack of security and natural disasters.
Given Afghanistan’s economic situation, anyone fleeing war faces gradual death, as those displaced by war cannot escape death, disease, and starvation. The question that arises is: how can those who have kept the furnace of war burning avoid responsibility for such deaths?
It has been almost two months since peace talks began in Doha. The Afghan government has repeatedly called for a ceasefire by the Taliban. The people of Afghanistan are calling for a ceasefire on a daily basis, but the Taliban have not yet heeded the voice of the people and, on the contrary, have intensified the war. If the Taliban do not accept responsibility for such attacks, they should know that in the context of the war they have provoked and whose fires they continue to fan, such things are happening and they cannot absolve themselves of responsibility for such catastrophes.
Today, thousands of families have been displaced from their homes and property as a result of these wars. In fact, the responsibility for the plight of these families lies with those who do not hear the call of the Afghan people for peace. If the Taliban want to have a place in the future of this land, they must listen to the voice of the people and accept the ceasefire so that they will no longer be blamed in the court of the collective conscience. Otherwise, they will not be able to avoid responsibility for such catastrophes and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of our compatriots.
