Families of Afghan soldiers and Taliban fighters killed in the conflict, speaking to TOLOnews, said they are tired of the war and that they want all warring sides to make efforts for peace in the country.  

The families accused the country’s political leaders of seeking power and not paying attention to the people.  

TOLOnews’ Anisa Shaheed this week traveled to Logar province over 87 kilometers south of Kabul and met with residents of the province and families who lost members who were serving with either the security forces or the Taliban fighters. 

Anisa met with Ghawsuddin, a resident of Miakhil village of Mangokhil district of Logar. He has lost three of his sons in the war. His eldest son was killed in the jihad against former USSR forces. His second son, Haris, who was a graduate of Sharia Law faculty, joined the Taliban after he could not get a job in judicial institutions in Kabul, according to Ghawsuddin. He served as designated head of education in Logar for the Taliban.   

His third son was a student in Turkey and was killed when he was back in his hometown Logar. 

“One of them was a student. Another came to the village and was assigned as the (designated) education director for Logar by the Taliban,” Ghawsuddin Said.   

He says that the wife of his eldest son married his younger son after the eldest died. The woman was a widow for the second time as her second husband also died in the war.  

“They are not seeking heaven; they want power,” Ghawsuddin said. 

Half of Mangokhil village is under the government’s control and the security forces have three outposts in the district. The other half of the village is under the Taliban's control, according to the residents. 

Meanwhile, in Pul-e-Alam city, the center of Logar, a family lost their young son, Fida Mohammad, who was serving with the police and securing the main highway that connects Logar with Kabul. His father said a Taliban member riding a motorbike killed his son. 

“I have lost my son. What should I do with peace anymore if it comes?” asked Mohammad Wali, Fida Mohammad’s father. 

The mother of the killed policeman said she hopes that peace is ensured in the country and no mother loses her son in the war. 

“I hope there is peace (in the country) so that no one faces such a fate anymore,” she said. 

Fida Mohammad has been buried at a cemetery where a Taliban commander, Ghulam Haidar, is buried beside his brother who served in the Afghan army. 

Parents of a Taliban member who was killed recently said the mother had a stroke when she heard about her son’s death now her hand and leg are paralyzed.

“I told him not to go. He did not hear me. He came back to me in a coffin,” the mother of the Taliban member said. 

“He was a Talib. He was fighting for God. He was martyred. I enrolled him at Abu Hanifa (madrassa), but he did not go there and came back,” the father of the Taliban member said. 

The family of the Taliban member said they are living in a bad economic condition and that their houses were destroyed by recent flooding in the province. 

“We all asked him to choose the right path, but he didn’t,” said Abdullah, brother of a Taliban member killed in the fighting. 

 The two families featured in this report are not the only ones in Logar. There are many families in the province who have similar stories but many of them are not ready to talk on camera. One of the residents said that the Taliban kidnapped a young man last week who was accused of having links with the government and that there is no news on his fate so far.