President Ashraf Ghani’s recent remarks that the Afghan government will take revenge on insurgent groups for the blood of civilians, have sparked strong condemnation from the members of the public and civil society institutions.

Their reaction follows just five days after the insurgents seized control of a small valley in the volatile Sar-e-Pul province in northern Afghanistan, killing over 50 civilians.

The killing of civilians in Mirza Olang valley marks one of the worst attacks in the country by the militants over the recent weeks in which scores of Afghan civilians were killed, and hundreds wounded and others abducted.

On Wednesday Afghan citizens and civil society activists said that the president, over the past two years after every terror attack, has sent the same message. However, no practical step has been taken by the government to deliver on its promises made to the nation, people say.
“The government makes promises, but does not act upon them,” said Tamim, a resident of Kabul.

“These incidents all indicate the failure of the government. This causes divisions between the people and the government,” said university student Mohammad Shoaib.

“The attack on the hospital was an attack on the entire people of Afghanistan and all women in Afghanistan,” said Ghani following a deadly attack on a military hospital in Kabul some months ago.

But, Ghani’s messages seem to be a mixture of peace and war.

“There is no a single day we do not send a message of peace. At the same time, this could be the will of God, if you were attacked, then we stay bold against the attackers,” Ghani said two years ago after an incident in Kabul.

“I promise that our brave sons in the ranks of the security and defense forces will take revenge of them,” Ghani said on Tuesday following carnage in Sar-e-Pul.

In recent remarks, the president categorically said that the government will take revenge on the militants in the wake of last week’s massacre in Sar-e-Pul province which left scores of civilians dead and hundreds more taken hostage.

“The president wants to deceive the people and there is no a clear program for good governance inside the national unity government,” said civil society activist Abdullah Ahmadi.

“We talk about the reality that his government has done nothing worth only 2 Afs. It has made only fake promises and moves in the wrong direction,” said Mohammad Salim, a resident of Sorubi district of Kabul.

Families who have survived insurgent attacks in the Mirza Olang valley have said that the attackers carried white and black flags and they deliberated started shooting the people, including women and children.