On the fourth day of protests in Badakhshan, demonstrators--who have set up a tent in the city of Faizabad--called for the dismissal of the current governor in the province. They reiterated their original demands for security, electricity, and water.
The protesters said those who acted violently against demonstrators should be brought to justice.
According to the latest information provided by government officials, a protest on Tuesday in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan, turned violent with five protesters killed and over 41 wounded in a clash with security forces.
“We do not want money or something else, we want justice for our nation, for those who had the right to protest for their rights but were repressed by Zekria Sawda, the one who turned the protest violent and opened fire on protesters, he calls himself the killer of Badakhshan citizens,” said Mohammad Hashem, a protester in Faizabad city.
“Every day that passes, our protest is getting wider, today our demands are more than what they were in the previous days,” said Mohammad Khadem, a Faizabad protester.
The protesters warned they would continue to organize larger protests in the province If their demands were not met.
“Our first demand is that the killers of the people should be taken to court, our second demand is that power should be given to the Badakhshan people, third, we want to have water in our homes. We will continue our protest until these problems are solved,” said Taash Mohammad, a protester.
The Afghan government and the Afghan Parliament have assigned probe teams to investigate the incident which took place during the protest on Tuesday in Faizabad city and led to violence, leaving many protesters killed and wounded.
Golalai Akbari, one of the senators from Badakhshan province, said: “We hope the probe team that has gone to Badakshan will investigate the incident properly by considering both sides, the people and the government, and that the law will be enforced on either side. Anyone who disregarded the law and broke it and is guilty--justice should be met.”
The governor of Badakhshan said that the protest is against the government and that he would not step down without a presidential order.
“I have been appointed as Badakhshan's governor according to the Constitution and order of the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, I would act accordingly and based on the decision and order that the president would offer,” said Zekria Sawda, the governor of Badakhshan.