LASHKARGAH (SW): Reports from southern province Helmand suggest that the security forces have completely withdrawn from the restive Mosa Qala and Nawzad districts.
Mirza Khan Rahimi, Governor of Helmand, told Salam Watandar that the security forces have “tactically retreated” from the said districts and can recapture them any time they wish.
He said that the government has withdrawn the security forces because of the fact that it wants to ensure safety and security of the civilians.
Residents in the province however, has said that these two districts have been ‘given’ to the militants based on an understanding.
Quoting the Taliban, the residents said that the government has agreed to cede Mosa Qala, Sangin, Nawzad, Kajaki and Baghran districts to the Taliban so that they move their bases from southern districts to the northern ones.
Shah Wali and Mohammad Gul, two residents in Mosa Qala, said that based on the rumors, the government paid $ 100 million to the Taliban for the reconstruction of the area and for joining the peace process.
Ezatullah, another resident in the district, said that Taliban’s Quetta Council is also set to be shifted to these districts for the peace process to get momentum.
Governor of Helmand, while rejecting the accusations, said that such deal does not exist. The governor said that the President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has said time and again that the government would not sacrifice the gains and interest of the country for the sake of negotiations.
Mosa Qala, Sangin, Nawzad, Baghran and Kajakai are the districts, which are considered as important strategic districts in Helmand where the Taliban reportedly collect huge sum of fortune from opium trade and by collecting the bill of electricity.
ENDS
