KANDAHAR - Wide spectrum of the Afghan society in the country’s south have called for calm in the aftermath of tragic killing earlier this week of civilians in Kandahar province.

According to the Kandahar Governor’s Office, an investigation team led by the Chief of Army Staff General Sher Agha Karimi, has been dispatched to Panjwai district, where an unnamed coalition soldier opened fire on civilians in the wee hours of Sunday morning. On Tuesday, the probe team as well as two brothers of President Hamid Karzai, the Kandahar police chief and members of parliament, among other officials, visited the district to express their condolences and share their grief with the locals.

While meeting the locals, the officials called for calm and urged the people to wait for results of the investigation.

General Karimi told RTA Kandahar on Tuesday that the Afghan army is working “together with the Americans in order to investigate the incident”.

Qayoum Karzai, a tribal elder in Kandahar and one of the brothers of President Karzai, said this incident should not be politicized. “Indeed, this was a tragic incident and it has shaken the whole world,” he said. “We should stay calm and united and not let others to exploit this situation.”

Ahmad Farzan, an intellectual from Kandahar province, while talking to the local Hewad Television, called on the people to be “patient and stay united”. “This incident could be an accident caused by a single man or maybe the continuation of night raids. It will be revealed once the investigation is completed,” said Mr. Farzan.

While passing a 10-point declaration on Tuesday, a gathering of students from Kandahar University termed the act of the coalition soldier as “un-Islamic, barbaric and brutal”. The students as well as the Ulema Council of Kandahar have called for “public trial” of the perpetrator.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told journalists in New York on Tuesday that he was “very, very sad to hear about this shocking incident”.

“We expect that the investigation will rapidly establish the facts, that those responsible will be held accountable and that the public will be fully informed”, said Mr. Ban, adding that the UN would continue to urge “all authorities and military personnel who are engaging in these operations to pay extreme and utmost care to protect the civilian population”.

By UNAMA Kandahar