The grieving relatives of an Afghan National Army soldier reportedly killed in the northwestern Badghis province were distressed to learn that the wrong body was sent to their home province in Nangarhar – in the east of Afghanistan – on Sunday, some relatives of the soldier said.
Hazratullah, 24, was serving in an Army base in Badghis province – near the border with Turkmenistan. His family was informed in a phone call by Ministry of Defense two weeks ago that Hazratullah has lost his life in the clashes in Bala Murghab district in Badghis – which are ongoing for the past two weeks. Almost 150 soldiers have been captured by the Taliban in this battle and 20 others have been killed.
Hazratullah’s relatives, however, are still keeping their hope about him being alive after they learned that a wrong body has been sent to their home province.
The soldier, Hazratullah, was newly engaged with a girl from Nangarhar, his relatives said.
“We were informed by an Army commander about my brother’s death 13 days ago. Thirteen days passed and there was no news about the body of my brother and suddenly they sent a body to our house and it was not my brother’s body,” said Faizullah, brother of the missing soldier.
“At first, we got the new that my son was sustained injuries in one of his eyes and I was told that he is alive but later the news was wrong,” said Gul Faqir, father of the missing soldier.
Hazratullah’s relatives called on Ministry of Defense to inform them about the status of their son.
“The soldiers are fighting on the frontlines but see that how they are treated,” said Aimal, Hazratullah’s uncle.
“Government is not paying attention to this matter,” said Shafiqullah, a relative of Hazratullah.
The Ministry of Defense did not comment about the incident. Previously in many instances, officials of the ministry have vowed to address the problem.
Similarly, two years ago, the Ministry of Defense sent the body of a soldier to his family in Helmand but later it became clear that the soldier was alive and he joined his family.
