Kabul-Kandahar highway shut by heavy snowfall

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Kabul-Kandahar highway was closed on Monday in central Ghazni and Maidan Wardak provinces due to heavy snowfall.

Mohammad Karim Tarakhel, administrative chief for the Gilan district of Ghazni, told Pajhwok Afghan News dozens of vehicles and hundreds of passengers were stranded in Gilan and Maqur districts due to the highway closure by heavy snowfall.

Asif Zaheen, the Ghazni public works director, confirmed the closure of the highway in the two districts and said the road between Jaghori and Malistan districts was also shut.

He informed teams had been dispatched to the areas to reopen the highway.

Ihsanullah, in charge of the Ahmad Shah Abdali Transport Company in Kandahar province, said they had stopped operating passenger vehicles after the highway closure in Ghazni and Maidan Wardak provinces.

He said they did not want to put passengers’ lives in danger and would not start work until the highway was completely cleared.

sa/my