Afghanistan Times
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KABUL: A number of residents of northern Badghis province on Sunday staged a demonstration in Qala-e-Naw, the capital city, over the recent deteriorating security situation in the province.
The protestors accused the local officials of weak management and blamed them for insecurity in the province, thus asking the provincial governor to resign and step down from his position.
The demonstrators have set up tents and staged sit-inin front of the governor’s office and wouldn’t leave until their demands are met.
“Governor doesn’t have the ability to manage Badghis and he should tender his resignation, because the insecurity is increasing day by day,” said Doost Mohammad, a participant of the rally.
Another protestor, Mohamad Aqa said, “We have asked for governor’s resignation. We always supported our government and will do so.”
Meanwhile, the provincial council also voiced concern about the security condition in the province, saying the instability has intensified due to local officials’ neglect.
“Our people have suffered a lot, the paths between the districts are closed, and we daily witness the killings of police, army and intelligence forces. We want security and stability and they are our rights,” said Mohammad FaridAkhzai, a member of the provincial council.
On the other hand, Governor AbdulghaforMalikzai rejected the allegations and said, “We have sent the statement of the protestors to the central government, and whatever decision the government makes is acceptable to me,” he said.
This comes as the security situation hasworsenedrecently on the outskirts of Badghis province. On Saturday, a number of militants entered a building and opened fire on security forces. The clash lasted for four hours and resulted in the killing of eight soldiers and wounding of seven others.
Meanwhile, the US special envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation, ZalmayKhalilzad, wrapped up his seventh round of peace talks with the Taliban representatives last week in Qatari capital, Doha. His talks were paused for two days as an All-Afghan-Conference was held and jointly hosted by Qatar and Germanywhich led to a roadmap for peace in Afghanistan – with assurances for reducing violence and civilian casualties to zero.
