Families of victims of a suicide bombing at an election rally in Nangarhar asked government to investigate how an attacker infiltrated an election campaign – killing 14 people.
The incident took place in Kama district in Nangarhar at around 1pm on Tuesday afternoon among supporters of Nasir Mohmand, a candidate from Nangarhar.
The families blamed government for “uncertainty” in the country, saying that government and its forces “must respond to the victims’ families”.
“The person who was martyred was my cousin. I have lost two cousins in this blast,” said Parwiz, the relative of a victim.
“I have visited all houses in this district. Every family has lost a member or one of their members has been wounded. We call on the governor and the president to run a serious probe into the incident,” said Omar Mohmand, relative of a victim.
Some members of the provincial council said government should probe the incident.
“We call on government to arrest the perpetrators and send them to court,” said Sayed Mahdi Pacha, a member of Nangarhar Provincial Council.
“This is not a face-to-face war. You cannot recognize the attacker whether he is a guest or the host,” said Malik Rahmat, a tribal elder in Kama district.
The victims were laid to rest in Kama district on Wednesday.
The attack was widely condemned by foreign diplomatic missions in Kabul. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed its concern about safety around the election campaign.
Since campaigning formally commenced on 28 September, there have been several attacks resulting in the killing of a candidate and three security guards of another candidate, as well as the shooting of a further candidate’s agent and son, UNAMA said.
UNAMA said it urges all actors to halt all violence and intimidation against candidates and voters.
“I am outraged by attacks deliberately targeting civilians seeking to exercise their basic right to participate in elections,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan. “This violence, including today’s reprehensible attack in Nangarhar, is an assault on the constitutional rights of the people of Afghanistan.”
US Ambassador in Kabul, John Bass, also condemned the attack on an election rally in Nangarhar.
"An attack on a campaign rally is an attack on democracy. Violence must never be used to prevent Afghan people from having their voices heard through elections,” he posted on Twitter.