Lashkargah on the brink of collapse, says PC chief

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): The provincial council on Thursday said Lashkargah, the capital of southern Helmand province, faced the threat of collapsing into the hands of Taliban due to lack of coordination among security forces.

PC chairman Attaullah Afghan told Pajhwok Afghan News during an interview that the insurgents had reached historic Boost fort and Karez area and they planned to reach the central jail.  He said the security forces lacked coordination to frustrate the Taliban’s designs.

He said if the central government did not pay attention to Lashkargah, the city would meet a bad fate, alleging that a number of security officials were involved in corruption, but named no one.

A resident of the province, Abdul Hameed Hamkar, said the security situation in Helmand had deteriorated and needed serious attention from the central government. He said if Lashkargah fell, a number of other provinces would meet the same fate.

However, Helmand police chief Khalid Wardag said coordination existed among security forces in the province and they had driven away Taliban militants from a number of areas.

“You can see we are conducting operation in Boost fort area. The Taliban wanted to reach the airbase and the central jail, but we prevented that.”

Only two districts of the province are under the control of government and the Taliban have seized the rest.

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