Who has a hand in the kidnappings of children?

The successes of the Mujahideen – capturing large territories including dozens of district centers as well as capturing and surrendering thousands of regime soldiers – has broken the two-headed Kabul regime’s back and pushed them to the abyss.

Now the regime barely maintains its control in the confines of the provincial and district centers. The military and intelligence bodies of the regime are fragmented and uncoordinated. Soldiers are deserting their posts and positions. The regimes days are numbered and ill-omens litter their every initiative.

Political and military experts point to the disarray plaguing the regime, where governors and commanders are busy building their fiefdoms and the so-called President can’t even replace acting governors of provinces. Warlords and strongmen have carved their own personal governments; they maintain their own militias and prisons. They act according to their whims and openly derogate the semblance of governance and rule of law. The Parliament impeaches incompetent ministers but the so-called President breaks constitutional normality by submitting to the threats of strongmen and re-instating these incompetent ministers.

While the regime is too paralyzed to take concrete and constructive action they have however perfected the art of deceit and perception-building. Every now and then the government takes some steps accompanied with much fanfare so as to project its abilities and successes. One such incident was the recent kidnapping and rescue of a child in Farah province.

On the 22 of Aqrab media conglomerates affiliated with the regime published reports of a child who had been kidnapped by criminals and whose whereabouts remained unknown. Soon thereafter a video emerged that showed the child – Naveed – in captivity and begging for his life. This video understandably provoked much sympathy from all walks of life. Then a few days later the regime’s provincial government in Farah announced that the said child had been found and rescued. According to them the child was safely returned to the family and the perpetrators of this crime arrested. According to reliable sources it was subsequently revealed that among the kidnappers was the deputy-governor’s personal bodyguard. It has also being reported that this child was in fact found at the house of a high-serving provincial official.

The evidence so far suggests a strong correlation between the regime forces and this kidnapping of an innocent child. To a reasonable observer the evidence evinces a strong probability that some government officials are abetting criminals and the regime needs to take immediate action to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. The repeat of such incidence would raise serious questions regarding the collusion of government officials in such crimes either for personal profit or perhaps to actively orchestrate such crimes and rescues for garnishing the regime’s image.