Kabul Regime And Freedom Of Expression
25 May 2016By Shahamat Emarat
The head of Kabul regime – Ashraf Ghani – boasts freedom of expression as one
of his presidency's greatest achievements. Yet despite this boast frequently
regime forces threaten or arrest religious scholars, writers, journalists and
political analysts.
Some time ago Ustad Muhammad Maruf Rasikh – a teacher at Kabul University and
a preacher at its mosque – was arrested by Ghani's intelligence services after
they raided his home. He was detained without trial or due process for over a
month before being released due to protests and demonstrations demanding his
freedom. The regime justified his detainment by arguing the Ustad Rasikh's
teaching of Quran and Hadith to students amounted to extremism and subversion
of government.
After that they arrested Qadi Muhammad Hassan Haqyar – a writer and political
observer – after he stated that the killing of the Islamic Emirate's leader –
Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour – was a death of martyrdom. Haqyar justified
his position by arguing that Mullah Mansour was targeted and killed by the
American occupiers and anyone killed by them is according to religious edicts
a martyr.
Similarly the political analyst and writer, Engineer Nazar Muhammad Mutmaeen,
was numerously insulted and threatened on live television broadcast by the
regime's Ministry of Interior spokesperson – Sediq Sediqi. Sediqi demanded
that Mutmaeen accept his personal observations and analyses without criticism
and investigation. Mutmaeen retorted that a government which can't tolerate a
pen and an independent opinion, then how can we expect it to tolerate the
Taliban as a political opposition.
Also there is the example of Nematullah Karyab – a teacher at Kunar University
and a BBC Radio journalist – who was arrested by the foreign occupiers and
then handed over to the regime's intelligence apparatus. He was only recently
released from his illegal detention.
The regime has attempted to forcibly silence the voice of reason and truth by
detaining teachers, scholars and clerics in dozens of provinces and districts
of Afghanistan, going as far as to threaten, debase, torture and even execute
them.
Generally the West and their allied regimes only value freedom of expression
if it serves as a tool to advance their objectives and interests. If people
use this same freedom is used in such a manner that it runs counter to their
interests and plans then these same champions of freedoms turn into the worst
enemies and opponents of our freedoms.
It is ironic and perhaps slightly pitiful that the foreign occupiers and their
internal regime allies have for years argued that the Taliban must accept the
regime's foreign-drafted constitution and respect the freedoms contained
therein before any political settlement can take place yet as the war drags
on, these same people first formed a government that is in open violation of
their constitution and now are stifling the very same freedoms that they vowed
to champion.
©
EsinIslam.Com
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