Jade-Abresham(Silk Way): After the Bon Conference in 2001, when the new government was formed in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, and the Parliament initiated measures to collect the data on Martyrs and People with Disabilities and consider their rights and privileges.
According to the former Ministry of State for Martyrs and PWDs of the former Afghan government, there are about 311,000 martyrs and PWDs registered in Afghanistan. Out of this, there are about 170,000 martyrs and about 141,000 PWDs. According to the Law on Rights and Privileges of PWDs, people who have been disabled defending the country, or due to war incidents and terrorist attacks, receive a specific amount salary, and a specific quota for employment shall be allocated to them.
The former Ministry of State for Martyrs and PWDs, before Kabul fall, had regular plans and programs including biometric registration of the inherits of Martyrs and PWDs, and distribution of bank cards based on the system to them and distributed their salaries.
Also, Independent Reform and Civil Service Commission considered 5 marks as affirmative action for PWDs.
When the former government collapsed on August 15, 2021, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Ministry of State for Martyrs and PWDs, elected councils, civil society, and free media which voiced the voice of the families of Martyrs and people with disabilities were dissolved.
Some of the former institutions including the Ministry of State for Martyrs and PWDs and IARCSC have limited their service delivery to the Taliban forces and members.
The Taliban Cabinet announced on September 21, 2021, that they will provide cash support to the families of Martyrs and PWDs. However, the interviews Jade Abresham conducted with families of Martyrs and PWDs in Ghazni, Ghor, Bamyan, Herat, Mazar Sharif, and Sare Pul provinces showed they had received no cash support in 10 past months after the fall of Kabul and the payment of salaries of families of Martyrs and PWDs had stooped too.
A source in the State Ministry of Martyrs and PWDs, told Jade Abresham, “Taliban have taken all the responsibilities here. Their commission has told the registered people to wait until they are wanted by the Taliban. All the PWDs have the same status. It is not clear what they will decide. They have been providing service to the people who have already been members of the Taliban group so far. Other people receive no service.”
According to the reports Taliban have limited the rights and privileges of Martyrs and PWDs to their fighters and the former military and civilian PWDs receive no salary.
It is while poverty has increased in the country and Afghanistan is on the verge of economic collapse. Many people have lost their jobs after the collapse of the former government and local NGOs. The fall of the government, capital flight, and halt of private sector institutions has caused price increase and economic crisis in the country.
Millions of Families of Martyrs and PWds are under mounting economic pressures as they receive no salary and privileges and the prices in Afghanistan skyrocket.
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