Qadir demands logistic support for uprising forces

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Lawmaker Haji Zahir Qadir on Wednesday asked the government to equip militias brought under a legal framework in the Shinwari district of eastern Nangarhar province.

A 1000-member armed militia, believed to be Qadir’s loyalists, was recently registered with the government to operate under security forces.

Nangarhar officials have previously said registered uprising groups would be equipped with weapons and provided needed facilities in their fight against militants.

Qadir, talking to hundreds of his supporters in Sara Rod district, said the government should equip the uprising members and provide them salaries and logistics.

About land plots the government had promised with Sara Rod residents, Qadir said: “Eleven years have passed since the government promised land plots to residents in Sheikh Misri Township, but they are yet to receive the plots and the land has been usurped.”

Qadir angrily warned if people’s rights were not accepted, he along with his supporters would block the Kabul-Jalalabad highway. He said he had been discussing the issue with government organs.

A representative of the township’s residents, Haji Abdul Aziz, said: “We were allotted the plots when Gul Agha Sherzai was the governor, but we are yet to own the land despite having all documents.” He said most parts of the township had been grabbed by powerful individuals.

On the other hand, a tribal elder representing Shinwari people, said the government had ignored thousands of families displaced from the Shinwari district.

He asked the government to facilitate the return of the displaced families by improving security in their areas.

Governor’s spokesman Attaullah Khogian told Pajhwok Afghan News the local administration did not receive the list of uprising groups in a timely manner, but they were working to complete the list and equip and support the militias.

About the township, he confirmed receiving complaints from people and said the issue would be resolved soon.

mds/ma

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