Ghazni residents in despair after district centers relocated

GHAZNI CITY (Pajhwok): The headquarters of eight districts of southern Ghazni province have been shifted to areas near the provincial capital, but the move has created problems for local dwellers.

The districts whose centers have been relocated include Andar, Deh Yak, Zanakhan, Khwaja Omari, Rashidan, Jaghatu, Waghaz and Khogyani.

Rohullah, a resident of Deh Yak district, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the center of their district was shifted to Ghazni city, the provincial capital, few months back.

“If we need to apply for a Tazkira (identity card), we have to travel to Ghazni city, but on reaching there, we cannot find officials and this has created problems for us,” he said.

He said the Deh Yak district center had been moved to Qala-i-Jawz area of Ghazni city while the old district building was now used as a security base by the Taliban.

Samiullah, a resident of Meri area of Andar district, said the headquarters of their district had been shifted to Chardiwal area.

“The district center was shifted to Chardiwal after intense clashes, but no one visits the new center for official works because the Taliban have planted bombs on routes leading to the area,” he said.

Rahimullah a resident of Khogyani district, said the district center was relocated to the provincial capital few years back.

“People do not go to the provincial capital for their formal works and instead refer their issues to the Taliban,” he said.

Residents of a number of other districts made similar complaints and asked the government to improve security in their areas.

Esmatullah Jamradwal, a provincial council member of Ghazni, told Pajhwok that the government shifted district administration offices to other places due to security problems.

“But this move has created problems for people, security would not improve by shifting district centers, but would further deteriorate. If the government fails to provide services to people in the new district centers, it would empower the Taliban to attack Ghazni city again,” he said.

Ghazni Governor Wahidullah Kalimzai said that the centers of some districts had to be shifted from their original areas due to some problems.

“We have talked with the central officials about the issue and we’re trying to relocate the district organizations to their old places to solve people’s problems,” he said.

About five months back, the Taliban launched a coordinated attack on Ghazni city, in which hundreds of people suffered casualties and a number of districts fell into the hands of insurgents.

mds/ma