PUL-I-KHUMRI (SW): Tribal elders in the Dand-i-Ghori district in northern Baghlan province have defended a deal signed to ensure peace and return of the repatriates.
A commission was formed by the President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani comprising of officials from various ministries and the parliament to probe the state of security in this part of the country. On Wednesday, a number of elders’ signatory to the pact for peace in Dand-i-Ghori gathered in Kabul to defend the deal.
Ten tribal elders from 21 villages and the members of the commission have signed the deal. The deal binds all sides that there should be no fighting in the district, no landmines, no search operations prior to the knowledge of the elders and efforts would be make to ensure safe return of the internally displaced families from the area.
Mohammad Ghulab Mangal, Minister for Tribal and Border Affairs has said around 3600 armed men in the area want to disrupt peace in the area for their personal gains. According to official figures, more than 50 civilians have lost in Dand-i-Ghori in fightings while more than one hundred have been wounded.
We are at peace since the deal, the tribal elders said in their gathering. The elders regretted that some circles in the capital Kabul were labeling this pact as surrender to the Taliban. They asserted that the pact signed by the Commission, tribal elders and local authorities has not granted the militants any liberty.
Haji Masto Khan, one signatory of the pact told Salam Watandar that this pact saved Dand-i-Khori from situation like Kunduz. “We have not heard a single shot been fired in Dand-i-Ghori since the deal”, he said.
ENDS