He Used to Encourage His Friends to Stand Up for Their Rights

Narrator: Hazratullah Shirzad (brother)

Victim: Abdul Latif Zahidi

Date of the incident: 23 July 2016

Location of the incident: Dehmazang, Kabul City

Praise to the Martyrs of the 23rd of July, and greetings to you. I am Hazratullah Shirzad, brother of the Martyr Abdul Latif. We come from Ghazni province, Qarabagh district. My brother graduated from Naiqala High School during the Taliban era. Because conditions were terrible in those years, he emigrated to Iran and lived and worked there for several years. After a few years, he returned to Afghanistan. He spent some time in Kandahar Province and then came to Kabul. After he came here, he worked with me in dentistry.

I went to Ghazni this year during Ramadan and remained there until the day of the incident. My brother always encouraged his friends and us to get an education. He advised all his friends to study hard, he was a keen reader. He was 28 years old when he was killed, and left behind two daughters and two sons. After my brother's death, life has been difficult for the entire family and for me. He was not only a brother, but also a good friend and comrade to all of us.

As I said, when the incident happened, I was in Ghazni. Someone called me to say that a suicide attack had occurred in Dehmazang, and that unfortunately, Abdul Latif was injured. They wanted me to return to Kabul as soon as possible. I didn't even know how they took him to the hospital or how he had been martyred. By the time I arrived in Kabul, it was too late. I didn't know the details of the incident, but I arrived at his funeral. I couldn't believe it. I was in a terrible mental state; it is excruciating and almost impossible to describe those moments. He always encouraged his friends to stand up for their civil rights and not allow anyone to violate them. He believed everyone should have equal rights and access to social justice; to achieve that, they must fight.