KABUL (SW) – Hundreds of residents in Kabul on Monday took to the streets for the second day in response to the arrest of a local commander, Alipour.
Similar protests were held in Bamiyan, Daikundi, Balkh and Ghazni provinces for the release Alipur.
The protesters in Kabul gathered in front of the residence of vice president, Sarwar Danish, demanding the release of Alipur. They charged the police for shooting directly at them.
The protesters said Alipour was a security provider for many people.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Health has reported at least 19 protesters got wounded in Kabul while the Bamiyan Public Health Department has confirmed seven protesters got wounded in the province, but protesters claim that the number of injured and dead is higher.
The press office of the vice president has announced negotiations are underway with protesters as well as serious investigation into Alipur's detention case. It also asked the protesters to be calm.
Meanwhile, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) has noted that Alipour is an illegally armed commander, and stated the reason for his detention was his illegal activities.
In a joint press briefing with the Army Chief of Staff, Akhtar Ibrahimi, the deputy minister at the Ministry of Interior, said today that the police have not taken arms against the protesters. According to him, opportunistic people have attacked police stations in PD 18, 13 and 6 and torched six check posts using the weapons provided by the Ministry of the Interior to them to safeguard mosques.
Ibrahimi said Alipour is a suspect and is currently under investigation by the National Directorate of Security.
He added that there were no statistics of the deaths and injuries of protesters, but 48 policemen were wounded, of which 4 were injured as a result of firing.
On the other hand, dozens of residents in the center of Maidan Wardak province protested in favor of the government's action to arrest Alipur and demanded that this local commander be tried in court. Protesters warn that the Kabul – Maidan Wardak highway will be blocked if the government did not trialed him in court.
Alipur’s arrest was also discussed during today's general meeting at the Wolesi Jirga (lower house).
Speaker Abdul Rauf Ebrahimi, said the NDS should inform the parliament and citizens about the arrest of Alipur. He tasked by house’ committee on security affairs to discuss the matter with the NDS.
However, protesters vowed they will not stop protesting until AliPur is released.
ENDS
