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Editorial: Child casualties

Afghan war is become uglier with each passing day. There is no end in sight to the miseries of general masses who have suffered a lot from the over three decades of invasions and civil war. Invaders have done little to improve lives of Afghans but did whatever they can to turn the multi-storey buildings into rubbles lives of the war-hit nation a pit of misfortunes and troubles. The former Soviet Union is no exception. The Red Army have carpeted the Afghan land with mines which is claiming lives of innocent children, women and men on daily basis. Russians do not know how deadly the landmines are that they have manufactured at mass scale for Afghanistan in 1980s.

How could they know because their children are not victims of the landmines? The toy-like mines are waiting silently to target children and grown people. Victims, mostly children, of this silent terror have little chance to survive. Those who survive cannot walk and play. They become living statues—neither dead nor living. Moscow has not cleared the landmines despite numerous reports that these silent killers have claimed lives of thousands of people. The deadly weapons brought by the Soviet troops are used even today by armed groups. In other words, the instruments of war manufactured by Moscow are still killing Afghans.

Recent report of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reveals staggering increase in child casualties. According to the report released on Wednesday, From January 1 to September 30 this year, 639 children were killed and another 1,822 wounded—shocking 15 percent increase from the same period in 2015. Unexploded explosive devices including landmines also inflicted heavy casualties on the children who were dreaming of a better future and a united happy family. Their dreams have gone with them to the grave which the killers cannot see.

Ground engagement has been outlined as a major cause of child casualties. Our leaders have failed to bring the nation together after the Soviet defeat. Most of them are still seen in the system. The civil war will always remain a stain that none can remove. However, they can show wisdom now to forge unity among their ranks and rescue the country from complete destruction. Insurgents should reintegrate into the society to give a hope to the children who are worst victims of the current war. Militants are systematically killing the present and next generations. The war that they are fighting was never about Afghans. It is a foreign imposed war on the nation. Therefore, renouncing the violence would put an end to the ongoing bloodshed and we can save children.

Similarly, Moscow shall fund the demining organizations in Afghanistan to save the precious lives by neutralizing the killers that they have left in the country.

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