KABUL (SW): Civil society activists from Paktika province have urged the government to take urgent and effective steps to ensure security on highways leading to this province.
Civil society activists, youth council members, provincial council members and elders of the province addressed a press conference about the prevailing insecurity on routes connecting Paktika with rest of the counry. They said armed gangs and militants have made it extremely difficult for Paktika residents to come to Kabul via Ghazni or Paktia provinces.
Shir Ahmad Faizi, head of provincial youth council, claimed the security situation in the province is getting weaker, and the Taliban are on the verge of taking over Paktika. Mohammad Nabi Ziyarmal, head of provincial journalists’ union, also said the Taliban are bracing for major assaults while the residents of the province are also buying arms for their own security.
Meanwhile, Najib Danish, acting head of media affairs at the Ministry of Interior, has told Salam Watandar that the ongoing ‘Khalid Offensives’ would eliminate militants from Paktika. He rejected the fears about fall of the province to the Taliban.
Paktika is at a distance of only 210 kilometers from the capital Kabul, and it has a patch of some 360 kilometers on the Durand Line with Pakistan. A large number of insurgents are believed to be active in areas close to the Durand Line.
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