GHAZNI CITY (PAN or withdraw Afghan Local Police (ALP) from the restive town.
Eighteen people including 14 women were killed on Sunday, when a car carrying wedding guests struck by a roadside bomb in the Sahib Khan village of the district.
Governor Musa Khan Akbarzada and other officials on Monday visited the village to attend funeral prayer for the victims and express their condolence to the bereaved families.
Residents told the officials to ensure their security by flushing out the militants from their area or dissolve the ALP and let Taliban regain control of the district.
Khan Mohammad, who lost nine family members to the blast, said in a palpably chocked voice: “The government should help us either by disbanding the ALP or killing all villagers.”
He believed a recent anti-Taliban public uprising had been more effective than ALP, saying the situation had worsened after the local force deployment. The authorities should let the uprising resume, the man suggested.
Another villager, Noorullah, who lost his son, said: “We do not care about today’s victims, but are worries about the continuing trail of murder and mayhem. We are concerned at increasing civilian fatalities in the war between militants and government.”
Noorullah requested the government to support the uprising instead of relying on ALP, or deploy Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers to the area.
Governor Akbarzada assured residents: “The war in Afghanistan is being fought by foreigners. Afghans are suffering the consequences; our enemies don’t want us to prosper and develop.”
He called for the Taliban to shun the insurgency being aided by foreigners and Afghanistan’s enemies.
An Islamic scholar from the area and member of the peace committee, Maulvi Hakimullah, condemned the killing of civilians, especially women. He said civilian slayings are strictly prohibited by Islam.
Provincial council head Abdul Jame Jame, who also took part in the funeral prayers, asked residents not to let Taliban operate in their areas. The militants always killed common people and struck fear into people’s hearts, he alleged.
Akbarzada paid 500,000 afghanis in compensation to each victim’s family and promised to pay all treatment expenses to the injured.
mds/mud
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