Celebratory gunfire

Written by: Naqib Ahmad Azizi

 aerial firing is the shooting of a firearm into the air in any celebration. In most of the rural areas of Afghanistan, people show their happiness during wedding ceremony by aerial firing. Sometimes such firing causes casualties and deaths.

Writer/producer AEPO has talked to some witness of this issue.

Ajab Khan, a resident of Paktia province says that celebratory gunfire is our ancestors’ heritage.

Jahanzaib, a resident of Qarabagh, district of Kabul province says:

We have the custom of celebratory firing. One day, our neighbor engaged his son with a girl. The boy’s uncle and his friends shot some bullets into the air. Meanwhile, some military troops were passing nearby and they had been chasing by helicopters. They thought that we are enemies and they opened fire on the crowd from the helicopters. Two persons died and one wounded.

Khalid Afghan, a resident of Maidan Shahr, the center of Maidan-Wardak province is also a witness to another incident. He says:

One day before Eid, our neighbor’s son Was sitting behind the window and an aerial bullet took his life.

Some people have found a resolution to this problem.

Aslam Khan, a member of the Qarabagh’s district council says:

When the council considered the dangers of aerial gun-fires, they banned aerial firing.

Now all residents of our district obey the decision and all of them live in peace.