Some Khost areas still lack access to telecom services

KHOST CITY (Pajhwok): Residents of some areas in southeastern Khost province walk for hours and scale heights to make a telephone call owning to lack of access to telecommunication services.

One such remote area is Algadi in Zazi Maidan district, where about one thousand families live.

Khalid, a resident of the area, said they lacked access to telecommunication networks and they had to walk for hours and climb mountains to contact their relatives.

He told Pajhwok: “When we have to make a call, we walk a long distance and climb a mountain.

He believed one telecommunication tower, if installed in their area, would 100 percent resolve their problem.

Majeed, another resident, said they were facing many problems in the absence of telecom networks. He urged the government to resolve their problem as soon as possible.

A number of other people held similar complaints and demanded of the government to solve the issue.

Khost Information and Culture Director Shabir Ahmad Osmani acknowledged telecommunication networks did not work in Algadi area, but assured the problem would be solved soon.

He told Pajhwok telecom networks covered 80 percent areas of the province and towers would be installed soon in the remaining 20 percent areas.

He said telecom towers existed in 80 percent areas of Khost and his department and the ministry concerned was trying to solve this problem gradually.

Khost Telecommunications and Information Technology director Maulvi Mohammad Ishaq Nizami also said telecommunication networks would be installed in all areas of Khost in the near future.

He mentioned Zazai Maidan, Musakhel, Qalandar, Spera and Alisher districts lacking telecommunication services.

Besides Khost, residents of some ther provinces also lack access to telecommunication services.

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