KABUL (SW): In conversation with Salam Watandar, a number Kabul residents alleged that the police persecute young couples in the capital city on one pretext or the other without bothering to fairly examine the circumstances.
It was revealed that the members of police force intercept young couples on busy streets, ask them personal questions about their whereabouts and sometimes take them to police stations for investigation. In these conversations the victims shared the tale of their tragic encounters with the police.
Nargis Rezay, a young Kabul resident, said such instances have left deep negative impacts on the minds of the victims. She charged that whenever the policemen see a young couple in a secluded place, they are persecuted, demanded to pay bribe or even threatened to be taken to police station. Nargis herself has been a victim to this.
Zubair, another Kabul resident, stressed in this regard that the policemen should know the difference between a morally corrupt person and an innocent one. He acknowledged it is difficult to judge the character of a person instantly, but by closely observing the body language a decision can be made. Zubair criticized the police for forcefully taking young people to police stations, which is socially considered a taboo in Afghanistan.
Zamzama Niazi, a female journalist, pronounced it as yet another social problem for the already oppressed youth of the country. She added that the members of police force are illiterate that is why when the young people show them their identity cards they do not approve their innocence.
Commenting on the persecution of young couple by the police, Lal Gul, head of the Human Rights Council, said it is the duty of police to keep discipline and an order in the society. He, however, underlined that asking for bribe and insulting young people in the public space should be avoided.
When contacted, Gen. Mohammad Saleem, director at the Kabul Garrison, pronounced this as a ‘propaganda’ against the police, and discarded reports about persecution of young couples in Kabul.
ENDS
