KABUL – *Gulbuddin Hekmatyar the leader of Hezb-e-Islami on Friday reactedagainst those people who have called for the name of Afghanistan to bechanged back to Khorasan.*

“Some individuals shamelessly say we don’t accept the name of Afghanistanand want to change it to Khorasan. Khorasan is a province in Iran. There isno one to hold them accountable and give them a lesson,” Hekmatyar saidwhile speaking at a mosque in Kabul.

Recently, Abdul Latif Pedram, leader of the National Congress Party, inprotest against government’s decision to distribute the electronic NationalIdentity Card (e-NIC) called for the name of Afghanistan to be changed backto Khorasan and the national anthem be changed from Pashto to Persian.

Pedram and his supporters insist that the identity cards should bedistributed in line with the parliament’s resolution adopted in 2015.

On May 3, President Ghani officially launched the distribution of e-NIC,but the country’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah strongly reacted andsaid the process does not have the needed recognition.

Following the move by President, more than a hundred parliamentarians urgedgovernment to stop the distribution process of e-NIC and called the processillegal.

The main problem on the distribution of the e-NIC is the use of the word“Afghan” which many say is synonymous with Pashtun ethnic group. Mostnon-Pashtuns says the designation should not be imposed as a nationality onthe entire population.