by Abdul Haleem, Jawed Omid
KABUL, June 5 (Xinhua) -- "We are fed up with the endless fighting and destruction. Enough is enough. Let us give up fighting and join hands to achieve lasting peace in Afghanistan," Hidayatullah, 35, a Kabul resident, told Xinhua.
After Offering his Eid al-Fitr prayer among hundreds of faithful Afghans in a mosque here amid high security, Hidayatullah lamented that he had grown up in war, lived in war and may die in war, as the conflict and insurgency are rampant in the country, including the fortified capital city Kabul.
Lashing out at the war and protracted insurgency in the country, war-weary Hidayatullah said sadly that the subversive activities, mostly in the form of suicide attacks, had claimed over a dozen lives and injured at least three dozen others, mostly civilians in Kabul in the last week of Ramadan, the Muslims' holy fasting month that ended Tuesday.
Afghans started to celebrate the three-day Eid al-Fitr on Tuesday amid tight security, with dozens of police deployed in and outside each mosque in Kabul and other big cities to ensure security for the faithful worshipers to offer their prayers in a peaceful environment.
Around 20 people, mostly civilians, have been killed and three dozen others sustained injuries in terrorist attacks since late May in Kabul alone, for which the Taliban and the Islamic State group have claimed responsibility.
On Tuesday, which is the first day of Eid al-Fitr, a motorbike blast at the gate of a mosque in the Nahrin district of the northern Baghlan province, according to police, had claimed two lives and injured 12 others.
Afghans, including government representatives and religious scholars, repeatedly requested the Taliban group to observe a ceasefire at least during the Eid al-Fitr festival, but the armed group refused.
"I am happy that we have offered our prayers in a peaceful environment today, I hope every day here in Kabul will be as peaceful as today," Amir Zadah, 38, another Kabul resident, told Xinhua after coming out of a mosque.
Denouncing the terrorist activities as being against humanity and Islamic teachings, Zadah lamented that the terrorists' attacks on university students and government employees during the month of Ramadan in Kabul had killed and injured scores of fasting people including women and children.
Condemning terrorist attacks across the country, the prayer leaders in all mosques of Kabul city prayed for an end to the war and return to viable peace in Afghanistan.
"To be frank, we are tired of so many blasts and terroristic attacks in our city and the country, I hope we could achieve lasting peace in our country one day," Zadah implored.
