Hassan Mubarak Azizi, the former government’s deputy minister of transport, who left for Turkey a week after the previous government fell, has recently returned to Afghanistan at the request of the “Return and Communications with Former Afghan Officials and Political Figures Commission.”
“It was pretty normal in the early days of political change in the country. Friend and foe were not known…various groups entered Kabul under different names and I did not feel safe and I considered it appropriate to leave Afghanistan,” he said. Azizi said that he has served in several government positions over the last two decades, including the position of Minister of Transport.
He asked the Islamic Emirate to provide a safe atmosphere for political figures to return to Afghanistan.
“Work must be done for the benefit of all people and for the stability of the country, for security and national sovereignty and a strong central government that reassures the people,” said Hassan Mubarak Azizi, ex-deputy minister of transport at the previous government. Although the commission has stated that it will provide security for the return of political figures, a number of political individuals residing abroad claim that the commission has not offered any executive-level assurances for them so far.
“The commission that has been set up has no guarantees … for politicians of the previous government,” said Sattar Hosseini, a member of the former government’s parliament. “Now the ground for the return of all the figures–civil and military–has begun. We hope that we will see the return of more figures in the near future,” said Inamullah Samangani, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
According to the commission, eight people, including academics, physicians, and other experts, have returned to the country after a ten-year absence. The commission also stated that scores of other individuals have completed the commission’s return forms and will be returning to the country soon.—Tolo News
