- KABUL: Ousted Afghan lawmaker Simeen Barakzai says she will not end her hunger strike until President Hamid Karzai opens an investigation into alleged vote fraud by the woman who has taken her seat in parliament.
Barakzai’s protest is the latest turn in a long-running dispute over who belongs in the Afghan parliament more than a year after elections that were marred by fraud.
Barakzai is one of nine parliamentarians removed from their seats as part of a compromise that was meant to finally end the saga and let lawmakers get to work.
Sunday is the eighth day of her hunger strike. Her hope is to reopen investigations into alleged vote buying and intimidation in what she calls a search for justice.
