The Mujahideen have set up various prisons for captured regime soldiers in
areas under our control. One of such prisons was located in Nad Ali's Zarpul
area in Helmand province. This prison housed some of the soldiers imprisoned
in the recent campaign. It is the Islamic Emirate's policy that those soldiers
and police members captured in our offensives – provided that they are not
accused of crimes against the people or other war crimes including torture,
extrajudicial killings etc – are kept imprisoned for a short period of time
and then under their family's guarantee and assurances that they will not
return to the battlefield, released back to their families. We consider this
benign policy as a just measure to ease the pain of our people.
It has been this just and compassionate policy that has facilitated the return
of thousands of erstwhile serving troops from the battlefield to their homes.
A few days ago the Mujahideen released dozens of soldiers under these
guidelines in Konduz. Similar actions have taken place elsewhere in the past
as well.
Two days ago the Islamic Emirate had also planned this conditional bailment
for the prisoners in Helmand. The families of the prisoners had been summoned
to vouch that these prisoners – once released – will not join the regime in
their fight against the people. The summoned families had expressed
willingness to accept this condition. This prisoner release deal was in the
final stages of implementation when American planes bombed the prison
facility, killing 22 prisoners and wounding many more. Three of the Emirate's
prison guards were also martyred in this bombing.
On the 28 of June this year, the American committed a similar crime in Konduz,
bombing a Taliban prison facility resulting in the death of 14 prisoners. The
regime authorities adopted a muted response while the American forces simply
stated that they will investigate the matter further.
Now it is comprehendible that the Americans would wantonly and
indiscriminately kill Afghans including their allied POWs. It is also
understandable that their ex-communist and previously exiled allies would turn
a blind eye to such killings since both parties attach no value to Afghan
lives. The Americans would gladly see Afghans embroil in an endless civil war
throat-slitting. Their ex-communist allies similarly have no compassion for
their people – including their own soldiers – because they sold their
fatherland many decades ago and consequently lived exiled lives in the west
until the American invasion gave them an opportunity to return back to
Afghanistan and once again profit from the war economy. They will happily see
Afghanistan bleed so long as their coffers are filled with American dollars.
It is interesting to note that this incident failed to provoke a government
response and received virtually no coverage in the media. The young men
fighting on the regime's side should contemplate deeply this fact. They are
putting their lives on the line for a regime that cares naught for them and
their families. They are being marched to the slaughterhouse where everyone is
taking turns butchering them.
While this is not the place for a long-winded discussion on the legality of
such operations it is worth noting the facilities containing prisoners of wars
are designated as protected places under international humanitarian law and
belligerents are required to abstain from actions that put the lives of these
prisoners in danger.
The Islamic Emirate ensures to the best of their means to protect and
accommodate these prisoners and release them back to their families at the
earliest convenience. Yet the foreign invaders regularly raid these prisons to
score cheap political points. Their reckless action in this regard not only
endangers the lives of these prisoners but also makes it difficult to arrange
conditions for their earliest release.
This new American tactic of deliberately bombing prison facilities and killing
the interned is clearly against the American rules of engagement as well as
the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners. We call on the United
Nations to fully investigate these incidents and declare the legal
implications of such actions under international humanitarian law. The UN and
its local branch – UNAMA – should not yield to political conveniences but
rather fulfill their duties under international law and thoroughly investigate
these reckless actions against prisoner facilities.