From Archive:
ADJMAL, A COMMENTARY BY ORZALA ASHRAF 11/4/07
Founder of HAWCA, Humanitarian Assistance for the Women and Children of Afghanistan
Orzala AshrafMercoledi' 11 Aprile 2007
Published in Afghanwire.com Occasional Publication on Tuesday the 10. of April 07
A three day gathering beginning on 10th April
Ajmal Naqshbandi 25, is the name of an Afghan journalist who have been slaughtered by Taliban on the 9th of April. He comes from a family to whom he has been the only bread-winner; it has been only six months that he had started his new life (he got married).
And today we are witness to heart-breaking news…the media reports: 'Shahabuddin Atal confirms that on the 9th of April at 3'o clock they have killed Ajmal Naqshbandi'….some still do not believe it, but in few hours there is a confirmation from another Taliban member. The city or perhaps the whole country is in mourning of this young man who travels to the south not to fight with any one; not to kill anyone but to guide a journalist some one who is like a mirror to the world and so he has been a victim of perhaps a dirty political game.
Needless to say that whatever we do now will not bring Ajmal back to his family and his colleagues and his country, but in order to show our anger towards this heartbreaking incident and to express our solidarity with Ajmal's family.
The members of civil society organizations including women NGOs, media organizations, the Independent Human Rights Commission were among participants of this gathering, each one brought a flower and they all left their followers in front of Ajmal's enlarged photo. Among the participants there were women and men of different age and different backgrounds. The students of university were also there to show their sympathy.
The statement released by the organizers of this gathering stated 'Ajmal was not a war hostage neither he was Kafir or foreigner so that Taliban could draw up an excuse for killing him. Although even there is no any statement based on any kind of human logic to kill those who are non-Muslim or foreigner. One of the main principles of Islam is protection of human life or the right to live and no one but Allah can take it. Neither any of the international conventions and declarations justifies such inhuman act.
The statement demanded the following:
* We the civil society members would like to share the sorrow and mourning of Ajmal's family and we want them know that we are all with them in this grief sadness;
* We request the national and international media to state their clear reaction to this inhuman act and to try and show the real faces of those perpetuators and the crimes they commit;
* We would like to request all warring factions to respect the human and civilian's life. And try not to cause any devastation to innocent people.
Ajmal's innocent martyrdom is an alarming for all of us, we need to get together and stop this hand in hand or else all our mothers and fathers should know that their the next will be their own sons or daughters. Therefore it is necessary for the government and security institutions to take this issue serious and stop all this injustices."
In addition to this, the participators have also been agreed to request the Italian newspaper "La Republica" to support Naqshbandi and the driver's families and also to commemorate a special scholarship program in the name of Ajmal Naqshbandi for training journalists in Afghanistan.
Published in: http://www.afgana.org/showart.php?id=29&rubrica=216
