Afghan Ulema Council on Friday called on United States to end night raids and hand over the US run prisons responsibilities to Afghans.

According to Afghan Clerics, the incident of Quran disposal and burning would not take place if it was under the control of the Afghan security forces.

The Ulema Council of Afghanistan also condemned the incident which led to a country wide demonstrations, with violence in a number of cities and provinces of Afghanistan.

During the demonstrations, six U.S. troops were killed by Afghan security forces or militants disguised in their uniforms.

Control over detainees and night raids are the two most contentious issues in a strategic partnership document that Washington and Kabul are negotiating. The council statement is a boost for the Afghan government’s position.The document would govern U.S. operations in Afghanistan after 2014 when the U.S.-led military coalition ends its combat mission.

Senior Afghan clerics also said, the burning of Korans at a NATO base last month was an “evil act” that must be punished, a demand that could deepen widespread public anger over the incident.

The Council demanded that those responsible for the burning of Korans at a US military base should be put on public trial.

The call from the Ulema Council came just hours before a report in The Washington Post claimed that five US soldiers were responsible in the burnings last week, which sparked deadly protests across Afghanistan.

Citing US military officials, the Post said an investigation had established that the soldiers removed the Korans from a prison at Bagram air base, north of Kabul, after they were found to contain extremist messages.

Author


  • Ahmad Shah Ghani Zada is the former Senior Editor of Khaama Press Agency who managed and overlooked the English edition. He is occasionally contributing stories to the agency.