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KABUL (SW): The former warlord, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, today at a gathering in Parwan province called the political parties and individuals who are opponents to the word “Afghan” to be printed on the “electronic National Identity Card – eNIC”, foreign pawns.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a leader of the Hezb-e Islami, also said that he will support the government’s decision to distribute the eNIC ahead of the elections.
The former warlord, Hekmatyar added that eNICs should have been distributed much earlier. He emphasized that all the people of Afghanistan are “Afghans and proud of being Afghans”.
Referring to the disagreements between the leadership of the National Unity Government, the former warlord, Hekmatyar said Afghanistan’s problems are due to these differences of opinions between the leaders of the NUG. He said, “one of the leaders launches the eNIC, but the other opposes it”. He called on the leaders of NUG to end their rift on certain issues, including the distribution of eNIC, and do not force the people to protest you.
Gulbaddin Hekmatyar blamed Iran for fueling ethnic rift in Afghanistan and said: “a number of government officials and some embassies are trying to sham the upcoming election such as past elections.”
The process of distribution of eNIC was officially launched yesterday by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, however, Abdullah Abdullah, the CEO of the NUG, and a number of the politicians and residents of the country dissented this process.
After years of controversy, the process of eNIC distribution has finally started, although, the dispute over the word “Afghan” recorded on the eNIC still continues. However, some people have insisted that the ethnic and national identifiers should be included on the eNIC, some others contest and only insist on the word “Afghan” to be included instead.
Meanwhile, in a statement released by the Jamiat-e Islami party, the party has opposed the distribution of the eNIC and said that the distribution of eNIC ahead of the elections for Provincial Councils and House of Representatives, is not a good idea and will only discourage people to participate in the elections.
The statement also said that due to these reasons, the recent decision of the President to distribute the eNIC is “illegitimate, controversial, and in favor of the enemies of Afghanistan”, and is not acceptable by the Jamiat-e Islami of Afghanistan.
ENDS
