LASHKARGAH (SW): The government had launched massive security operation to reclaim restive Nawa district in Helmand while also promising to go clear neighboring Marja, Naad-e-Ali, and Garmsir districts as well, but that remains to be seen three weeks since the operation was launched.
Documents obtained by Salam Watandar indicate up to 70 members of the Afghan National Police (ANP) from Nawa district remain in service to high ranking civilian and security officials. The documents reveal a large number of the police force is only present on paper, and their corresponding perks and privileges go into the pockets of corrupt individuals.
Bashir Ahmad Shakir, chairman of the security affairs committee at the provincial council, said in this regard that the issue of ghost policemen has crippled the writ of the state in Helmand. He said at first this phenomenon emerged in the restive northern districts, and now ghost policemen are also listed in the ANP ranks in the southern districts as well leading to the rise of the Taliban here. Shakir said Nawa, in particular, lacks enough ANP force to defend the security check posts.
Abdul Majeed Akhundzada, deputy chairman of the provincial council, acknowledged the fact that ghost policemen exist in the ANP ranks in Nawa, Marja, and Naad-e-Ali districts, and their perks go in the pockets of high-ranking officials at the police headquarters, provincial officials, parliament members, and Ministry of Interior (MoI) officials. He said up to 500 policemen are registered in Nawa, but only around 100 are actually serving.
The local civil society is equally concerned about the matter. Hafiz Ahmad Nusrat, the professor at the Helmand University, informed that out of four police stations in the district only two are under the control of the government while the remaining two are under the influence of the Taliban.
Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. Abdul Ghafar Safi, provincial police chief, has discarded reports about ghost policemen. He said this problem existed in some districts, but has been resolved now. He said certain decisions have been made regarding improvement in the ranks of police in Nawa. He admitted some policemen from other districts are serving as guards with senior officials, but Nawa has all of its police force available for duty. The police chief said police leadership in the district has been changed, and those policemen not appearing for duty would be dismissed. He noted 50 policemen from Nawa and Marja districts are serving at the provincial administration headquarters. The police chief informed the MoI has dissolved a portion of the police force in some fallen districts.
ENDS
