Explosions in Kabul on Saturday killed at least six people attending a funeral reportedly attended by government officials, including members of parliament, a day after hundreds of demonstrators turned out to demand more security in the capital.

The explosions came just three days after a powerful truck bomb attack in the city that killed 90 people and wounded more than 450. The attack raised fears about the government's ability to protect its citizens nearly 16 years into a war with insurgents.

Wahid Mujro, spokesman for the Public Health ministry, said three explosions rocked a cemetery where Afghan Senator Alam Ezadyar's son was about to be buried. Salim Ezadyar was one of several people killed during the protest on Friday, attended by more than a thousand people in downtown Kabul.

Alam Ezadyar is deputy speaker for the upper house of the Afghanistan Parliament.

A couple hundred protesters passed the night under two big tents on a road near the presidential palace and the blast site and about 200 more joined them during the day. All roads toward the palace and nearby diplomatic areas were blocked Saturday by police and there was limited movement of vehicles and people.

The nature of Friday's demonstration shifted when protesters, many calling for the country's leadership to resign, attempted to move closer to the palace and some rushed police, who fired warning shots and used water cannons and eventually tear gas in attempt to disperse the crowd. The city's police chief said some demonstrators fired weapons in the direction of his men.

Angry protesters start a fire inside the cab of military vehicle during a violent demonstration near Wednesday's suicide attack site, in Kabul. — AP
Angry protesters start a fire inside the cab of military vehicle during a violent demonstration near Wednesday's suicide attack site, in Kabul. — AP

A member of the Afghan Parliament said Friday that eight protesters had been shot dead, while a hospital official said four corpses were brought to his facility. Police said Friday two protesters were killed and 25 police injured but would not comment on the number of fatalities when asked to clarify the death toll on Saturday.

Meanwhile on Saturday, Gen Murad Ali Murad, deputy interior minister, urged demonstrators to disperse because of a high security threat level in the country. He also called on members of the public not to join the demonstration.

President Ashraf Ghani, meanwhile, met with senior security officials during an emergency security meeting. A statement from the president's office said the meeting determined that an investigation must find out what exactly happened that led to the violence and identify those who acted against the law.

Most of the casualties from the truck bombing were civilians, including women and children, officials have said. But the dead also included Afghan security guards at the facilities, including the US Embassy, and 11 American contractors were wounded, none with life-threatening injuries, a US State Department official said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came in the first week of the month of Ramazan.

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...