45 arrested on land-grab charges in Ghazni

GHAZNI CITY (Pajhwok): Security forces in southern Ghazni province have arrested 45 individuals in Gilan district on charges of grabbing state land.

Police spokesman Abdul Khalid Sarhadi told Pajhwok Afghan News the arrests took place on Friday in Behbud and Chala areas of the district.

He added the arrested individuals would be handed over to judicial organs for further investigations.

Sarhadi noted the campaign against land grab had recently been intensified in Ghazni City, the provincial capital, and surrounding districts.

Land grabbers had been arrested earlier as well, though many were released on bail, he said, promising stepped-up efforts to curb the practice, with a focus on identifying the perpetrators and bringing them to justice.

Meanwhile, residents of Ghazni welcomed the security forces' action and called for stronger measures to prevent land grab.

A resident of Ghazni City, Adam Khan, told Pajhwok: "Many land grabbers are arrested, but they are freed afterward. Legal action must be taken against them."

sa/mud