MUSLIM UMMAH CALL FOR A PEACEFUL AFGHANISTAN TO CELEBRATE EIDUL ADHA

This is a deep honest appeal to the Afghanistan disputing parties , in the spirit of Eid Adha , to maintain peace and come to terms in rebuilding the nation.

We know that there are still unsettled disputes to be resovled between the government and the Taliban. But continued armed attacks and counter attacks cannot be accepted to move forward.

The long history of foreign intrusion and intervention in Afghanistan since 1978 by Soviet Union and in 1992 by the US have created a long impact on the sovereignty of the nation.

Afghanistan has gone through a very rough period of exchange of powers. From communist rule to advancement of Islamic groups into power and to the US-led intervention.

As a result it sparked a massive flight of Afghans from the countryside; by 1982 some 2.8 million Afghans had sought asylum in Pakistan, and another 1.5 million had fled to Iran. Estimates available indicate that some 1.5 million Afghanis were killed before 1992.

The casualty rate after 1992 is less precise. Many thousands were killed as a direct result of factional fighting; hundreds or thousands of prisoners and civilians were executed by tribal, ethnic, or religious rivals; and a large number of combatants—and some noncombatants—were killed during the U.S. offensive.

Moreover, tens of thousands died of starvation or of a variety of diseases, many of which in less-troubled times could have been easily treated, and hundreds of thousands were killed or injured by the numerous land mines in the country. (Afghanistan was, by the end of the 20th century, one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, and vast quantities of unexploded ordnance littered the countryside.)

The number of Afghan refugees living abroad fluctuated over the years with the fighting and reached a peak of some six million people in the late 1980s.

We are very disppointed with the development in Afghanistan. Its potential to grow is devastated by endless conflicts. Lost lives, destruction of public infrastruture , insecurity , economic stagnation and meltdown, dispossed and dependence on humanitarian aid are grim situations in Afghanistan.

We are in solidarity with Afghanistan for self determination. However with all humility , we appeal for the powers in dispute to seek the best peacefull resolution. Military operation can never be a lasting and durable solution.

We express our concern on the on going instability of Afghanistan ripping it from the potential development that could be advance from the estimated 40 milion population of which 99% are Muslims.

We are shocked by the rockets attack in the midst of Eid Adha prayers in Kabul and this is totally unacceptable and condemnable.

At least three rockets landed in the Afghan capital as the city marked the start of the Muslim holiday, said Interior Ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanekzai.

We question why the dispute allows violent display of rockets attacks in the middle of the Holy Day of Eid Adha ?. What is Islamic about this atrocious attacks ? What message are they conveying to the world of Muslims fighting each other in such a blatant way.

We are hoping the years of instablity of Afghanistan be ended and as a Islamic nation we appeal that peace and an inclusive political participation be derived as an amenable solution.

The Muslims around the world definitely want a stable Afghanistan to allow its citizens to advance at par with other Muslim nations.

Despite holding over $1 trillion in proven untapped mineral deposits, Afghanistan remains one of the least developed countries in the world.

Afghanistan is one amongst the poorest countries in the world. According to the Afghan government’s estimates, 42 percent of the Afghanistan’s total population lives below the poverty line.

We hope Afghanistan to be given a chance to rebuild itself in a conducive environment where the potential of Afghans will be harnessed to the fullest.

We seek the Islamic scholars around the world to joint in the effort to help Afghanistan rebound as an examplary Islamic nation.

Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid
President Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organizations ( MAPIM )