Kidnapped Brac staff in Afghanistan
The abduction of two Brac officials from the Afghan town of Ghazni last Thursday came as a rude shock to us, more so, when till the time of writing this editorial no trace has yet been found about their whereabouts. Ironically, the two men were engaged in development activities having nothing to do with Afghanistan's highly volatile, explosive political situation. Brac has certainly proved itself to be a development partner with welfare of the people it serves being its prime objective.
This is not the first time that any Brac official working in the country has been kidnapped by some militant group, though it is not clear what they want to achieve through such activities that violate all international laws and norms. True, the feuding groups are at war against each other, but there is obviously no point in targeting innocent development workers whose only mission in Afghanistan is to serve the country and its people. The abductors should not have been oblivious of the fact the Brac personnel are doing their job commendably, despite facing threats of abduction and even death in a country embroiled in seemingly endless conflicts. In fact, a Brac official was shot dead last year and another kidnapped and released later on.
W are hopeful that good sense will prevail and the two kidnapped Brac officials will be set free very soon.
We appreciate the Afghan government's assurance to our foreign ministry that all out efforts are being made to rescue the Brac officials. The release of Brac official Nurul Islam last year was possible when the government set about the task of freeing him on the basis of an elaborate strategy. We are hopeful that use of the tested methods will produce similar results this time around also.
Brac, as a matter of policy, is planning to gradually wind up its programmes in Afghanistan within the next five years. However, their far-sighted operation plan includes capacity building among the locals which will make it possible to perpetuate the good work done by them. So, it is really unfortunate that they are looked upon with suspicion by some militant outfits.
The Nato forces present in Afghanistan should also take note of the crimes being committed against people engaged in humanitarian activities. Security of such people should be high on the agenda of the countries and agencies striving to bring back normalcy to Afghanistan.
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