Dangers of holding a Pakistani ID card

A former mujahid told me that Taliban killed three children in Sarobi because their parents had Pakistani ID cards.

“Afghanistan is now far more dangerous than it was during mujahideen days,” an old friend, a former mujahid himself, tells me as we sit cross-legged on a handwoven Hertai carpet in a sun-spattered Kabul room sipping green tea and nibbling almonds. “It is highly dangerous for us all but especially so for anyone holding Pakistani identification of any kind,” he warns. “Just two days ago, in a mountainous area near Sarobi, three young children, of whom the eldest was a boy of 12, were brutally murdered. Their throats were cut by the Taliban. Their parents had gone out somewhere and the children were alone. The reason given for this atrocity was that their parents had Pakistani identification cards.”

He shivers while relating this incident. It was widely reported and he, like so many others in Afghanistan, holds a Pakistani ID card himself, as do all older members of his family, who spent many years in and around Peshawar refugee camps.

This gruesome twist in an already complicated situation, fraught with danger from so many sides at once, certainly should be of major concern in light of the Pakistan government’s recent decision to repatriate — forcibly, if need be — a large percentage of Afghan refugee families who either arrived in the country after the Soviet invasion of 1979 or fled to ‘safety’ during the days of the Taliban rule.

The majority of such people, save for the illegal refugees, hold Pakistani identification of some kind. It is also a clear indication of how the ‘rules’ are changing and changing fast. Up until now, most people were of the opinion that all Taliban were of Pakistani origin and yet, as this incident highlights, this no longer holds true as the attackers went after those possessing Pakistani identification.

“The Taliban are inhuman,” my friend continues. “And, now that some foreign forces — the French, for example — have or are pulling out of some areas of Afghanistan, these monsters are encouraged to move in, and in the Sarobi area at least, they are being joined by Chechens whose cruelty knows no bounds. Even I, as the fighter that I was and still am, though now in the Afghan National Army, dare not set foot in my own village as the Taliban have sworn to kill all, including their families, who are connected with our government in anyway. To now be in the Afghan National Army or the police is extremely dangerous as not only do you face death in the line of duty on a daily basis, but your family can also be murdered in your absence.”

Over the last few years, it has been customary for serving members of the Afghan National Army and the police force to leave their families safe and secure in Pakistan — if at all possible — whilst they themselves fight for freedom and attempt to uphold law and order at home. However, it appears that this scenario could soon change.

“The murder of these children serves as a warning to us all,” he explains. “If our families are here, they could be killed at any time as a way of terrorising us. There is pressure on us. It is not easy being in the army or the police here and everyone, including you, holding Pakistani identification, will need to tread very, very carefully, indeed or … die!”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2012.