Family and relatives of the 9-year-old child who was kidnapped almost two months ago warned on Sunday they would go on a hunger strike if he is not released.

The relatives of the child have held several protests and have established a protest camp in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif over the last 21 days.

“We will go on a hunger strike here (in front of the governor’s office). For God’s sake, it is a shame for the government,” said a protestor and a relative of the child.

They also warned to take their concerns to the Presidential Palace.

“I will go to the Presidential Palace if my concerns are not addressed in two days,” said Zohra, the child’s mother.

The protestors said they shared their problem with local officials but they have not seen tangible progress in this respect.

Zohra, mother of the child, said: “I will go to the Presidential Palace if my concerns are not addressed in two days.”

The relative of the child said that Interior Minister Gen. Massoud Andarabi in a phone conversation vowed to rescue the child in a week, but the promise was not implemented.

“Are the security agencies so weak they cannot rescue a child from kidnappers?” said Asadullah Attar, a protestor.

Last week, the deputy minister of interior affairs visited the province to meet with the protestors.

The former head of the National Directorate of Security, Rahmatullah Nabil, who has visited Balkh to join the protestors in their call for justice, said the problem should be addressed.

“I myself share your pain. This is not a pain only for Turkmen people,” Nabil said.

Balkh police talked about the reason behind the delay in the rescue of the child.

“The operation faces delays due to the sensitivity of the matter and the challenges the process faces,” Balkh police spokesman Adil Shah Adil said. 

The kidnappers last month released a video of the child that shows him handcuffed and his legs tightened with chains and pleading for help.