A large number of Kabul residents in an interview with “Voice of Afghan Women” reported an increase in armed robberies in Kabul city, saying that in recent months, robbery, extortion, and attacks by unknown gunmen in shops and people’s homes have increased.
Zakaria, a resident of Qala-e-Fathullah, a resident of the 10th security district, said that since the beginning of Ramadan, only two armed robberies have taken place in the area, which has caused great concern among local residents.
Zakaria goes on to say that there is a food shop in the alley of his house, and that people are less frequent in this alley. On Friday last week (February 20), two people on motorcycles entered the shop and took 8,000 afghanis and a smartphone with them.
He narrates: “The owner of this shop goes to Friday prayers at 11 o’clock before noon, and his son, who is about 14 or 15 years old, stays in the shop. “Two people on a motorcycle enter the shop at 12:00 p.m. under the pretext of shopping, threaten the shopkeeper’s son and take 8,000 afghanis and his smartphone.”
Zakaria also says: “The son of the shopkeeper was screaming and screaming, but the residents of the alley and houses near the shop were late. “By the time people became aware, the armed robbers had completely fled the area.”
According to the Kabul resident, the local people immediately shared the incident with the Taliban, but the Taliban only promised to follow up on the incident and identify and arrest the perpetrators. So far, there has been no news of the arrest of the perpetrators.
At the same time as the armed robbery, the CCTV cameras in the alley were turned off due to the lack of electricity. There are no clues that could help identify the armed robbers.
In an interview with “Voice of Afghan Women,” Zakaria indirectly considers the members of the Taliban outpost in this area to be accomplices of the armed robbers. According to him, since the Taliban came to power, there have been many robberies in the area, but no one, not even a suspect, has been arrested.
On the other hand, Omid Rahimi, a resident of Mahdia town, a resident of the 18th security district, also expressed concern over the increase in armed robberies and rejected the Taliban regime’s claim of decreasing criminal crimes, saying that thieves have become so emboldened that they enter people’s homes in broad daylight.
Omid says he has witnessed several armed robberies by unknown individuals in at least the past month. “A family of six had gone to the wedding almost five days before Ramadan. “Four people armed with pistols entered their house and took some gold worth 130,000 afghanis and several agate and rubies rings with them.”
He continues, “At first, two of them climbed over the wall. Those who saw it thought that the key to the courtyard door was left inside the house. People did not think that there would be robbery on this bright day, but when they find out that those people are thieves, the thieves run away.”
He clarified that this case has not been reported to the security district and the Taliban’s outpost because the people are completely disappointed with this group and their words are not heard and followed.
At the same time, another audience member of “Voice of Afghan Women” from the security hill area of Kabul city, where thousands of travelers travel daily to different provinces, said that there has been a significant increase in thieves in this area.
The contactee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that passengers arrive in Kabul from different provinces and remote areas, and many of them are not familiar with the city of Kabul, and thieves identify and chase them to steal their property and belongings.
According to the “Voice of Women of Afghanistan” audience, this situation has increased sharply in recent months and days, and a large number of passengers have fallen prey to thieves.
Along with these concerns, a large number of users on social media are also concerned about the increase in armed robberies and the lack of accountability of members. The Taliban are complaining about preventing and curbing this crime.
Facebook user Mehdi Hassas, with a tool of concern about armed robberies, wrote that armed robbers are trying to empty the pockets of the poor.
Given all these concerns about people’s financial and human insecurity, social activists believe that the increase in armed robberies in cities is linked to rising poverty and high youth unemployment.
According to these activists, if suitable job opportunities are provided for the people, especially the youth, and the people’s daily income is in accordance with their needs, then fewer people will go after theft and baggage. They emphasize that stealing is not a job; it may sometimes be out of necessity.
On the other hand, the Taliban, as the ruling and responsible regime in providing job opportunities for the people, have completely irresponsible and ignored these demands of the citizens.
Photo credited: Internet
