50 vehicles laden with food items reach Paroon

ASADABAD (PAN): Fifty pick-up vehicles laden with food items had reached the capital of eastern Nuristan province from neighbouring Kunar after security forces reopened a highway leading to the city in Chapa Dara district, police said on Thursday.

The highway was reopened after months of an operation involving Afghan National Army (ANA) troops and police in the district that borders Nuristan, Kunar police chief Brig. Gen. Abdul Habib Syedkhel told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He said the food items were dispatched to Paroon in cooperation with tribal elders and police from Galsak and Tanik areas of Chapa Dara.

On the route, Taliban insurgents had destroyed a wooden bridge in Galsak area, causing food shortages and leading to increased prices in Nuristan, he said. 

But the bridge was rehabilitated by police in support from area residents on Wednesday, Syedkhel said. However, he said government officials, who commuted to Paroon through Chapa Dara, continued to experience security threats.

The police official promised a massive cleanup operation against insurgents in the district after Eidul Adha festival.

The link road has temporarily been reopened and government employees could not travel on it, Wama district police chief, Lt. Abdul Qayyum, said.

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