KABUL (Pajhwok):  Commemorating the 8th anniversary of the 2007 Baghlan sugar factory bombing, Wolesi Jirga members on Saturday asked the government to bring to justice the perpetrators.
The back-to-back blasts killed at least 18 people, including six lawmakers and several children who greeted the parliamentarians visiting the factory in November, 2007.
So far 18 members of the Wolesi Jirga and Meshrano Jirga, the two house of parliament, have been killed in bomb and suicide attacks.
They include Syed Mustafa Kazimi, Nazakmir Sarfaraz, Sahibur Rahman Himmat, Mohammad Arif Zarif, Sibghatullah Zaki, Eng. Abdul Matin, Abdul Mutalib Baik, Ahmad Khan Samangani, Shahnaz Himmati, Fazlur Rahman Samkani, Mohammad Islam Mohammadi, Habibullah, Dad Mohammad Khan, Asmatullah Mohabat and Mohammad Hashim Watanwal. The slain senators include Ustad Abdul Saboor Farid, Mohammad Yunus Shirin Aqa and Arsalan Rahmani.
 “Those who carry out suicide attacks and bomb blasts are the enemies of Afghan people, so the government should harshly deal with them,” Woelesi Jirga speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi told a ceremony commemorating the slain comrades.
The perpetrators of the Baghlan bombing were the enemies of Afghanistan because they targeted public representatives, teachers and students to prevent development, prosperity and education in Afghanistan, he said.
Ibrahimi criticised the government for failing to take action against the perpetrators of serial killings, saying such killings should be brought to a halt.
He said the unity government should have specific definition for enemies and friends and should choose exact and enforceable politics towards neighbouring countries.
The speaker said growing corruption, poverty, unemployment and bad governance had disappointed the masses and if the government could not bring improvement, public concerns and disappointment would increase.
Ibrahimi said protection of lawmakers, announcing dates to hold elections to Wolesi Jirga and district councils was government’s responsibility that should be discharged.
Senate Chairman Fazal Hadi Muslimyar criticised security institutions particularly the spy-network for failing to indentify culprits behind the Baghlan incident even after eight years.
He asked the authorities concerned to investigate and bring to an end the mysterious killings of lawmakers.
He said silence against murderers of important personalities, teachers, students and security officials was a sin, adding that the current security situation of the country was terrible and the security of national figures should be enhanced.
Qudratullah Zaki, a Wolesi Jirga member and brother of Sibghatullah Zaki who lost his life in Baghlan incident, also lambasted the security institutions for the deteriorated law and order situation and their inability to investigate the Baghlan massacre.
He said the slain lawmakers had informed security officials about their scheduled journey some 15 days earlier.
He said some regional countries did not want to see Afghanistan a prosperous and developed country, adding that the killing of six lawmakers was the plan of neighboring country.
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