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MPs Reject Govt Report on Gen. Raziq’s Assassination

Lawmakers in Afghanistan’s Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) on Monday dismissed government’s report on the assassination of Kandahar police chief Gen. Abdul Raziq.

MPs argued that there were political motives behind the assassination and that government has deliberately refrained from sharing the details of the incident.

Heads of Afghanistan’s defense, security and intelligence institutions were expected to appear before the lawmakers on Monday to brief them about the assassination and the overall security climate of the country.

But, the officials failed to attend the session after the Presidential Palace (ARG) announced a prayer ceremony for the deceased commander.

“Security officials should have come today, we can not exclude it from the agenda, it is still on our agenda and we will delay it until Saturday,” said Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, speaker of the parliament.

“When a general of the country is martyred, no one bothers to take his body to the forensic laboratory and also the (whereabouts of the) body of the Taliban fighter also remains unknown, in our perspective, this issue is very vague,” MP Allah Gul Mujahed said.

Some other MPs meanwhile accused government officials of insulting the house.

Lawmakers said the circumstances surrounding Raziq’s assassination were questionable and that the Afghan government should provide full details of the tragedy.

“The government is not respecting the house, we should not call government officials till end of this session,” said MP Ghulam Farooq Majroh.

Brig. Gen. Abdul Raziq Achakzai, commonly known as Gen. Raziq, was gunned down in an attack on October 18 at the Kandahar governor’s compound. At the time of the shooting other high-ranking officials were present including the provincial governor Zalmai Wesa and Resolute Support commander Gen. Austin Scott Miller.

Raziq took over as police chief in 2011 after his predecessor, Khan Mahammad Mojayed, was killed in a suicide bombing in April of that year.

At only 39, Raziq had made his mark across the country and was seen as a giant presence in the south. He was a fierce patriot and was committed to stamping out terrorism.

The sudden death of Raziq sparked a strong backlash among the Afghan public and politicians with some stating the circumstances around his death were “mysterious”.

President Ashraf Ghani last Tuesday said the assassination of Raziq was planned in Pakistan and asked Islamabad to hand over those responsible in order for Afghanistan to ensure justice prevails.

“I want to say that this conspiracy was plotted in Pakistan. So Pakistan should give us the criminals so that we can bring them to justice,” said Ghani.

Pakistan Embassy in Kabul condemned the Kandahar attack in a statement hours after the incident but their Foreign Affairs Ministry rejected the claims regarding Kandahar attack.

“Pakistan rejects baseless and unfounded allegations regarding the latest Kandahar attacks. No hard evidence or intelligence related information has been shared to date with Pakistan to substantiate such claims,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

MPs Reject Govt Report on Gen. Raziq’s Assassination

The heads of the country’s three security agencies failed to appear in parliament as requested after a prayer service was organized by the Presidential Palace.

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Lawmakers in Afghanistan’s Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) on Monday dismissed government’s report on the assassination of Kandahar police chief Gen. Abdul Raziq.

MPs argued that there were political motives behind the assassination and that government has deliberately refrained from sharing the details of the incident.

Heads of Afghanistan’s defense, security and intelligence institutions were expected to appear before the lawmakers on Monday to brief them about the assassination and the overall security climate of the country.

But, the officials failed to attend the session after the Presidential Palace (ARG) announced a prayer ceremony for the deceased commander.

“Security officials should have come today, we can not exclude it from the agenda, it is still on our agenda and we will delay it until Saturday,” said Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, speaker of the parliament.

“When a general of the country is martyred, no one bothers to take his body to the forensic laboratory and also the (whereabouts of the) body of the Taliban fighter also remains unknown, in our perspective, this issue is very vague,” MP Allah Gul Mujahed said.

Some other MPs meanwhile accused government officials of insulting the house.

Lawmakers said the circumstances surrounding Raziq’s assassination were questionable and that the Afghan government should provide full details of the tragedy.

“The government is not respecting the house, we should not call government officials till end of this session,” said MP Ghulam Farooq Majroh.

Brig. Gen. Abdul Raziq Achakzai, commonly known as Gen. Raziq, was gunned down in an attack on October 18 at the Kandahar governor’s compound. At the time of the shooting other high-ranking officials were present including the provincial governor Zalmai Wesa and Resolute Support commander Gen. Austin Scott Miller.

Raziq took over as police chief in 2011 after his predecessor, Khan Mahammad Mojayed, was killed in a suicide bombing in April of that year.

At only 39, Raziq had made his mark across the country and was seen as a giant presence in the south. He was a fierce patriot and was committed to stamping out terrorism.

The sudden death of Raziq sparked a strong backlash among the Afghan public and politicians with some stating the circumstances around his death were “mysterious”.

President Ashraf Ghani last Tuesday said the assassination of Raziq was planned in Pakistan and asked Islamabad to hand over those responsible in order for Afghanistan to ensure justice prevails.

“I want to say that this conspiracy was plotted in Pakistan. So Pakistan should give us the criminals so that we can bring them to justice,” said Ghani.

Pakistan Embassy in Kabul condemned the Kandahar attack in a statement hours after the incident but their Foreign Affairs Ministry rejected the claims regarding Kandahar attack.

“Pakistan rejects baseless and unfounded allegations regarding the latest Kandahar attacks. No hard evidence or intelligence related information has been shared to date with Pakistan to substantiate such claims,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

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