Kabul, May 16 (FN Agency) Families of the victims of the May 8 blasts near Sayed al-Shuhada school located close to this city are demanding that the incident be probed by the United Nations and they also called for a proper security plan for students in that part of the city. The blast, that took place on May 8 claimed the lives of more than 80 people-all students. The families put the casualty figure at 90 killed and over 240 wounded- all being students. Incidents of attacks on students had been recorded in the recent past.
The families spoke at a press conference in Kabul on Sunday where they called for proper attention to be paid to those affected by the incident. “We call on the international community, the UN, human rights defender organizations to probe the cruel attack and find the perpetrators through a probe team so that the Hazara community, especially girls, are not deprived of their right to live and be educated,” said Masooma, a member of an affected family. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission has suggested that the government should not delay the probe into the attack on the school. “There is a need for a practical step. If not, or if they cannot, they can seek help from the international court so that it can assess cases of war crimes,” said the head of the media office of the commission Zabihullah Farhang.
In the wake of the attack, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani directed his two vice presidents to probe the incident and make a security plan to boost security in the west of Kabul. The Second Vice-President Sarwar Danesh’s office said that the security plan will be finalized within the next few days. “A technical study was done about the population in the west of Kabul and the existing capacity in our security agencies in that area. An inclusive plan will be made based on these discussions and studies, and will be submitted to the Presidential Palace in the coming days,” said Hadi Mohammad Hedayat, an adviser to the second vice president.