The members of the Commission for Monitoring of Government Actions (CMGA) on Monday announced that the Lower House has approved the Private Land Grabbing Prevention Law (PLGPL) by means of voting. The Law, consisting of three chapters and 17 articles aims to prevent illegal grabbing of government and private lands across Afghanistan.
On Monday, majority of the Lower House members voted in favor of the Law. The members of the CMGA said that over the past several years, millions of acres of land have been illegally grabbed by the influential figures in the country. The Commission assured that according to the PLGPL, severe punishment would be awarded to those who are involved in such illegal activities.
"The Law was approved with majority. It consists of three chapters and 17 articles," said Mirwais Yasini, the First Deputy Speaker of the Lower House.
Meanwhile, Sher Wali Wardak, the deputy head of the CMGA, accused a number of government officials of grabbing land illegally and said that the names of the violators shall be made public within a week's time.
"The Law has been formulated to prevent land grabbing. A number of government officials are involved in grabbing land illegally and their names will be disclosed within one week," said Mr. Wardak.
Additionally, the MPs demanded an investigation into the killing of innocent civilians during the Peoples' Democratic Party of Afghanistan's (PDPA) regime. They called the killings an "unforgivable action," and demanded prosecution of the killers.
"The Law has been approved because some elements have the tendency to do illegal things. Also, the killing of innocent civilians during the PDPA's regime must be investigated," said MP Abdul Satar Khawasi.