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KABUL: Some members of the Parliament lashed out at the government over deterioration of security situation on the highways, saying that the militants have been overrunning the areas across the country. .
Speaker of the Parliament, Mir Rahman Rahmani said that the parliament would summon security officials. “The security and defense commissions are instructed to summon the security and defense officials, investigate their schemes and report it,” he added.
Some lawmakers accused the Taliban of creating obstacles and unruly passengers on the highway.
“The highway of Kabul-Herat is controlled by the Taliban,” said, lawmaker Mohammad Arif Rahmani. “The group’s fighters are disrupting the passengers and they are committing crimes like killing them or kidnapping them and extortion is routine practice.”
He called on the government to make all out efforts to secure the highways.
A lawmaker, Abdul Wali Niazai said that the security checkpoints located alongside the highways have been removed. “The Taliban raised their flags on Baghlan-Kunduz and Takhar-Badakhshan highways,” he added. “They (Taliban) shoot members of the security forces on the highway.”
Another lawmaker, Shafiq Sakha expressed concerns on the security threats alongside Maimana-Andkhoy highway. She also accused the Taliban of taking extortion from the passengers.
This comes as the ministry of defense earlier announced that securing the highways and cutting Taliban’s income sources would be its top priority in the ongoing year.
