Turks (Uzbek, Turkmen and Kazak) are the second largest ethnic group in Afghanistan; constituting over 35% of the population.
Turks make up more than 35 percent of the country’s population. But they do not always get as much as 2 percent of their rights. In politics, Turks are always marginalized.
The share of this nation in the employment of government employees is less than 2 percent, which is in the lowest positions. About half percent of the 1, 2, and 3 positions are Turks.
Of the 120 heads of the Ministry of Finance, not one of them is a Turk. Ministries with more than 500 central offices cannot find 10 Turks. This reflects the discriminatory policies of the central government.
When the war was raging in the southern provinces, the central government allocated the most development projects to those provinces.
In 2014, the war shifted to the north and northeast to the Turkish desert. But now the north and northeast are free of any development projects. Currently, the most deprived and impoverished region in Afghanistan is the Turkic region.
In the northern and northeastern zones, the security situation has reached its worst.
The security situation is getting worse and worse every day. The citizens of the country, especially the Turkmen in the north of the country, do not have physical and psychological security.
Turkmens make up 35% of the population of Balkh province. But they are not seen in the political body of this province. In addition, people belonging to this people face coercion and abduction every day. Unfortunately, the central government has been negligent in this regard.
Kidnappings of children, killings of young people and extortion of Turkmens have become commonplace in the Northern provinces.
Gunmen in military uniform abducted a 9-year-old boy near a private school in Mazar-e-Sharif about two months ago.
This is the fourth kidnapping in Balkh province in the last six months. This time, a 9-year-old boy named Abdul Rauf Jan was hunted by kidnappers in Mazar-e-Sharif.
Mohammad Nabi, the child’s father, says the kidnappers demanded $ 1.5 million to free his son.
Hundreds of people set up a tent in front of the Balkh provincial building. They want to free a child from the clutches of the kidnappers.
Abdul Samad Harith, chairman of the Northern Zone Turkmen Council and one of the organizers of the protest, warns the government: The sit-in tent will last for two days. If Abdul Rauf is not released, we will block the way to Hairatan port. Two days later, we will block the road to Aqina port so that our voice could be heard.
Despite repeated promises from Balkh officials, no action has yet been taken.
Hafizullah “Salar”, the deputy head of the youth of the Balkh Turkmen Islamic Solidarity Council, says: We have been shouting in front of the governor’s gate in cold weather day and night for three weeks. But local officials have so far taken no action other than wasting time. In the eyes of local and central officials, the Turkmen people are seen as third and fourth degree. But this time, it is not the adults but the young people who stand by themselves until their demands are met.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government is ready to cooperate with the Turkmens of Balkh. The Turkish Security Council, in good faith, found a place to detain Abdul Rauf, and later partnered with local and central authorities to expedite the release process. But there is still no positive movement from local authorities.
However, the senior deputy of the Ministry of Interior also came to Balkh last week. But the authorities’ excuse is that more than 20 gunmen have changed Abdul Rauf’s detention center eight times so far.
Turkmen officials are also ready to cooperate with the Turkmen of Balkh. Turkmenistan says it is ready to pay $ 1.5 million if the kidnappers want money outside Afghanistan.
Turkey once again called for cooperation in finding the child’s whereabouts. Because according to its own international law, this country cannot act arbitrarily. But if the central government of Afghanistan asks the country for cooperation, Ankara will take immediate action.
