Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak has come under fire for allowing his brother to be introduced as deputy intelligence chief at the ministry on the same day of the Intercontinental Hotel siege.

The attack which lasted 17 hours, claimed the lives of at least 43 people although the government has put the official figure at 22.

Colonel Kabir Ahmad Barmak, the minister's younger brother, who has served as district police chief in PD5 and PD11 in Kabul, was promoted to deputy head of the interior ministry’s intelligence department on Sunday - while the siege was ongoing.

“If it is interior or defense minister or director of security, they should allocate one hour to their sons, but now they spend hours at an event,” MP Abdul Hai Akhundzada said. 

However, the ministry said Barmak had not been at the event to introduce his brother. Instead, the deputy interior minister had attended.

The attack was launched at about 9pm on Saturday and carried on through the night and into Sunday. It only ended 17 hours later and dozens of Afghans and foreigners lost their lives.

The attack also drew widespread condemnation by the general public who blasted security departments for failing to prevent such deadly attacks. 

“One gets appointed by Abdullah and another by Ghani. They don’t care about the people,” Kabul resident Omran Mubarez said. 

“Neither the minister nor the president has any right to ignore this bloodshed,” Kabul resident Gulabuddin said. 

Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the minister had been at the scene until the siege was over. 

“The minister was up late that night at the scene and also the next day he was there - until the attack ended. These remarks are baseless,” said Danish. 

Kabul residents meanwhile also criticized government leaders, President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, over what they said was negligence in managing the country.