No one can shove mujahideen off political stage: Sayyaf

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Former influential jihadi leader Abdul Rab Rassoul Sayyaf on Sunday warned against shoving mujahideen off the political scene.

Speaking at a gathering commemorating the 1979 uprising in Herat against the Soviet Union, Sayyaf stressed the need for giving the former jihadis their due share in government.

“Show patience and be assured that nobody can eliminate or isolate you,” he told the gathering. Mujahideen had never violated human rights but they defended them, he insisted. “We are not violators, but defenders of human rights and we are not ignorant.”

He added the Islamic State (Dayesh) group would be unable to gain a foothold in Afghanistan by changing colors and people would stand united against them.

 “Islam is not a religion of terror, but a religion of peace and compassion. Any group that uses Islam as a pretext to commit crimes is a traitor,” he added.

Ismail Khan, another former jihadi leader and ex-water and energy minister, told the gathering that the freedom the Afghans enjoyed today was the outcome of scarifies the Mujahideen had rendered against the Russian occupation.

Meanwhile, some residents of Herat City considered March 15 a day of pride against the decade-long occupation of Soviet troops.

On this day 26 years back thousands of Herat residents revolted against the communist regime of Noor Mohammad Taraki, who had the support of the former Soviet Union. In retaliation, the government of Taraki martyred 25,000 people in an attempt to quell the uprising.

Aziz Ahmad, who attended today’s gathering, said: “It is a historic day. The government should celebrate it with full honour.” He said their elders had rendered scarifies to preserve freedom and independence for coming generations.

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