In response to video footage recently released of MP Abdul Satar Khawasi urging a crowd of constituents to launch Jihad against the U.S., Afghan security personnel and civil society activists on Wednesday spoke out against the lawmaker and his comments.
The clips of Khawasi were released on Tuesday, and show the representative from Parwan encouraging Ghorband District residents to fight the U.S. and denounce Afghan leaders in the government who collaborated with the U.S.
The exposure thrusted the MP into the spotlight, where he has since been rebuffed and challenged.
Civil society activist Mir Ahmad Joyenda noted that Khawasi was a part of the very government and system that depended on U.S. support he damned in the recorded speech. Joyenda suggested the MP could be trying to ingratiate himself with militants in a form of self-preservation as the NATO coalition prepares to withdraw by December.
"Those who have been supported by the U.S. all this time, who made a life and had contracts for the Parwan–Bamyan road with them, are now concerned about their future with U.S. troops pulling out," Joyenda said. "Now in order to have a place among the anti-government groups, they are contradicting their beliefs and what they have been doing all these years."
However, in the clips, Khawasi also denounces Afghan security personnel who he labels infidels for working with the U.S.
"Whether it's Mr. Khawasi or whoever it is, they should not call a Muslim an infidel, because we and you are Muslims, and it's a sin to call a Muslim an infidel," Paktia Police Chief Zalmai Oryakhail said.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) did not offer any comments on Khawasi's video specifically, but was quick to point out the religious discipline excercised in the Afghan army.
"We have mosques in all our battalions, Islamic scholars give Islamic education and no one can call our Army infidel, that they don't fulfill religious obligations or are not Muslims," MoD spokesman General Muhammad Zahir Azimi said.
Khawasi has expressed strong views regarding the recent operation in Ghorband Valley of Parwan province, which saw a number of civilian casualties result from a U.S. airstrike called in during a joint U.S.-Afghan ground operation in the area.
While Khawasi, President Hamid Karzai and others rebuked U.S. leaders for the incident, many other Afghan lawmakers called the operation an ultimate success as it led to the deaths and capturing of a large group of insurgents.
In the wake of the Khawasi video release, the Minstry of Interior has reported of finding no connections between the MP and armed opposition groups.
Members of Parliament were contacted for input, but declined to comment on Khawasi or the video footage.