Engineers kidnapped in Mohammad Agha district freed

PUL-I-ALAM (Pajhwok): Five road engineers, who were recently kidnapped by Taliban militants in central Logar province, have been freed, an official said on Wednesday.

Mohammad Nasir Amin, Mohammad Agha district chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News the Taliban had taken the engineers with the Blobal Road Construction Company in Dawlatabad area on February 24.

He said the engineers were responsible for the the construction of the Pul Kandahar-Surkhab road. The engineers were released as a result of efforts by tribal elders.

Amin advised the engineers to contact security organs before traveling to any area. Following their release, the men were reunited with their families, the district chief added.

A tribal elder from Surkhab area, Gulab Din, said: “We tried a lot for the release of these engineers; we handed them over to their families on Tuesday.”

Meanwhile, the Taliban also confirmed the incident. The group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said any company working in an area under Taliban control should seek permission from the movement.

“Any development projects implemented in our area should also be monitored and authorised by the Taliban,” he said, adding a company violating the policy would be responsible for whatever happened to it.

The road construction process started about two months ago. The district police chief and three workers of the Blobal Construction Company were injured and a policeman killed by a roadside bombing during the first survey for the road.

mds