ஆப்கான் பள்ளிச்சிறுவர்களை கொன்ற தாலிபான்கள் பர்தா அணிந்து தப்பிப்பு

பள்ளிக்குச் செல்லும் சிறு குழந்தைகளை தாக்கி கொன்றுவிட்டு ஓடிய தாலிபான்கள் பெண்கள் அணியும் பர்தா அணிந்து ஓடினார்கள் என்று ஆப்கானிய ஜனாதிபதி ஹாமித் கார்ஜாய் கூறினார்.

கோழைகள் என்று அவர்களை குறிப்பிட்ட கார்ஸாய், அவர்கள் எப்போதெல்லாம் ஓடுகிறார்களோ அப்போதெல்லாம் பெண்கள் அணியும் பர்தாவை அணிந்து தப்பிவிடுகிறார்கள் என்று கூறினார்.

நன்றி கலீஜ் டைம்ஸ்

Afghan criticizes militants for hiding under burqas
(AP)
11 July 2007


KABUL, Afghanistan -Calling militant attacks cowardly work,’ Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday deplored a suicide bombing that killed 12 school children and accused militants of running from battle by donning women’s clothing.

Speaking in a measured tone, Karzai said the bravery’ of militant fighters was killing innocent people and children.’

Whenever there is pressure on them they escape under a woman’s burqa,’ said Karzai.

He did not explain that comment but could have been referring to past reports of Taleban militants in Afghanistan wearing the all-encompassing burqa to flee detection. Also, more recently, Abdul Aziz, the leader of a besieged mosque in Pakistan, was captured last week trying to slip out dressed in a burqa and high heels.

Karzai called reporters to the presidential palace to condemn Tuesday’s suicide bombing in Uruzgan province that killed at least 17 people, including 12 students. The attack in a crowded market wounded more than 30 people, including eight Dutch soldiers whom the attacker apparently had targeted.

I pray to God that Afghanistan is soon freed from all this suffering,’ Karzai said, noting that mass battles between Western militaries and Taleban militants were down this year but that suicide and roadside bombings were up.

Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry spokesman said it is easy for Taleban fighters to falsely claim that civilians were killed by Western or Afghan military action and that militants are forcing locals to lie to journalists.

The enemy is threatening the local people to lie to the media,’ Gen. Zahir Azimi said. They even give them telephone numbers of the different agencies to call them and tell them that, for example, 100 civilians were killed in an airstrike by the coalition or NATO.’

Azimi said if civilians don’t do as ordered, the Taleban fighters will kill them. He said in one case in Sangin district of Helmand province airstrikes destroyed two Taleban trucks but that media reports later said 40 civilians were killed.

Karzai has repeatedly deplored civilian deaths caused by NATO or US military action, saying more must be done to prevent such casualties. But military officials have recently begun claiming that some reports are nothing but information warfare planted by the Taleban. That tactic could be an attempt to lower support for NATO’s mission in European capitals.

Tribal elders over the weekend claimed 108 civilians were killed in a bombing in Farah province, but no officials have backed up those claims. However, the governor of Kunar province said 27 civilians were killed by NATO military action late last week in his northeastern province.

In violence, a joint Afghan-US convoy came under attack in Paktia province on Wednesday, sparking a fight that killed two police and four Taleban, said Ghulam Dastager, deputy provincial police chief.

In Helmand province, Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed eight suspected Taleban on Tuesday, the Ministry of Interior said.

Violence has spiked in Afghanistan the last six weeks. More than 3,200 people, mostly militants, have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according a count by The Associated Press based on numbers from Afghan and Western officials.