“If we could start civil resistance”

Survivors and family members of those killed by Taleban gunmen in Qargha returned to remember and plant flowers.
On June 21 Taleban gunmen attacked the popular lakeside park near Kabul. The mindless attack sparked both fear and outrage.

Survivors and family members of those killed by Taleban gunmen in Qargha returned to remember and plant flowers.
On June 21 Taleban gunmen attacked the popular lakeside park near Kabul. The mindless attack sparked both fear and outrage.
Eight days later some 150 people met together in Qargha.  “We will not let the killers sow seeds of fear and panic,” Shahzad Akbari told the gathering.
Many in the crowd were young; there were academics and artists too. A four-point declaration urging all sides in Afghanistan’s unending conflict to stop killing innocent civilians was read out. Everyone present vowed to keep coming to the park.
Mohammad Wakeel, who lost his brother, said he grieves for his nephews and nieces. “My heart breaks at the sight of his children. Even his 11-months-old son cannot be quietened since his father’s death.” Changa Sidiqi said her elder brother, just 27, was to have got married in a few days. “He told me he would be home by 10pm. He had eight bullet wounds in his head and back.”
Prayers were recited, and flowers planted in remembrance of the innocent people who died.  Among the victims were 15 civilians, three security guards of the Hotel Spozhmai, the scene of the attack, and one policeman. Eyewitnesses reported the seven armed Taleban who were gunned down arrived in a Tunis van (Toyota) at 11 pm. Asadullah, a manager at the hotel, said they entered through the garden and immediately started shooting at guests and staff members.
The Taleban who claimed responsibility issued a statement saying the hotel was a “hub of vulgarity and obscenity”. People from all walks of life have condemned the slaughter of civilians.
Abdul Qayum Wafa, who was present at the memorial gathering on June 28, said, “This type of assassination is no longer acceptable. We don’t see any reason for the attack. If we could we would start civil resistance.”
Rasheed Hadi said the Taleban have to provide proof the victims were involved in what they have claimed were “immoral activities”, though in no case would give them the right to kill, said Mawlai Azizullah Mufleh, “under any name or pretext.”
The mother of 17-year-old Feda Mohammad who was shot in the eye and killed, said her  school-going son worked the weekends in Qargha to support the family.