Addressing a ceremony on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the Soviet’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, CEO Abdullah Abdullah’s second deputy Mohammad Mohaqiq said Sunday that no one can impose a particular tribe’s identity on others.  

Referring to the registration of some high level government officials for electronic identity cards (e-NIC), Mohaqiq stressed the need for more discussions to be held on the issue.

It is not fair to impose an identity on other identities, he said.

“Why should we impose an identity on other identities. We are proud of the identity of our Pashtun, Uzbek, Tajik and Hazara brothers,” said Mohaqiq. 

Meanwhile, the CEO’s office has said that the rolling out process of e-NIC based on the president’s legislative decree is challenging and that the CEO will discuss the issue with President Ashraf Ghani in order to reach a consensus on the key national issue.

“We are hopeful that a solution is found to the issue through negotiations,” CEO spokesman Mujib Rahman Rahimi said. 

These mixed reactions were expressed after President Ghani, First Lady Rula Ghani, Second Vice President Mohammad Sarwar Danish and a number of cabinet members and high-ranking officials registered for the new e-NIC.

According to an e-NIC department  official,  over 100 families so far have registered for their cards. 

Meanwhile at another gathering in Kabul, Ahmad Zia Massoud, the president’s former special representative for reforms and good governance said government by rolling out e-NIC wants to create discord among the nation. 

According to Massoud, government is misusing e-NIC for its political purposes. 

“They want to create discord among the Afghan tribes, want to create political tension and finally want the country to face a crisis,” said Massoud. 

Meanwhile a number of civil society activists in Kabul have asked government to start issuing the new electronic cards as soon as possible. 

 “e-NIC’s fate should be made clear,” said one civil society activist Hamida Barmak.

Some tribal elders meanwhile said the issuing of e-NICs based on the president’s legislative decree is against the law. 

“We do not accept e-NIC unless all the people accept it,” Abdul Ghani Baluch, a tribal elder said.