Senators from the Meshrano Jirga (Upper House of Parliament) on Sunday asked President Ashraf Ghani to dissolve the High Peace Council (HPC) following the insensitive remarks uttered by former HPC advisor Abdul Hakim Mujahid.
 
According to the senators, those who call the Taliban peace angels and say they are a sacred group are disrespecting all civilians who have been killed by the Taliban.
 
This comes after Mujahid said last week, in the wake of Tuesday’s deadly bombings in Kabul and Kandahar, that the Taliban were angels of peace and the group is a sacred group.
 
Mujahid was however fired from his position as HPC advisor on Sunday.
 
The senators argued that the HPC has failed to make any major breakthrough in the peace process and has instead been a financial burden to the country. The senators also implied that irresponsible HPC members should be prosecuted.  
 
In the Sunday session, the Meshrano Jirga discussed the overall security situation in the country and the recent spate of violence – including the Taliban attacks in Helmand andKabul and the bombing at the Kandahar guesthouse.  
 
More than 50 people were killed when two Taliban suicide bombers targeted a convoy of Afghan parliament workers on Tuesday. More than 50 people were killed and over 150 wounded.  
 
“We call on the supreme commander of the armed forces to dissolve the High Peace Council and instead use the money on the security forces,” said senator Rana Tarin. 
 
“Today there are concerns in everyone’s minds including shopkeepers, the poor and laborers about the situation in the country and they want to see what government will do to mitigate the scale of the problems,” said Tarin.  
 
Emotions among senators ran high however after Mujahid defended the Taliban and said Jihadi leaders had been traitors.
 
“Taliban is a sacred group who have fought against Russia and defeated them, then put an end to civil war and brought security to the country,” Mujahid said.
 
Mujahid’s comments were widely criticized by Afghans.
 
“National Assembly staffers who were martyred belonged to poor families and they had only around 100Afs in their pockets, many were the breadwinners of their families, but they were killed,” said senator Anarkali Honaryar. 
 
“This will not not be the first or the last incident. It is important that government must be accountable in such incidents,” said MP Amina Afzali. 
 
Senators said that the HPC is a failed institution, and asked government to dissolve it.

“Those forging proxies and slaves such as Abdul Hakim Mujahid who works within government institutions and the HPC must be cleared so that the people of Afghan can breath in peace,” said senator Gulalai Ahmadi. 
 
“More security measures need to be done, we have signed security agreements with foreign countries such as the US and with NATO, everyone knows where the terrorists live,” said senator Gul Ahmad Azami.