Bamyan-Kabul highway closed for 3 days

BAMYAN CITY (Pajhwok): The Kabul-Bamyan highway has been closed for the last three days due to an ongoing protest against alleged fraud in the provincial council elections, passengers said on Friday.

The highway has been blocked in the Siahgird district of central Parwan province, where residents have been demonstrating against the electoral defeat of a candidate.

One passenger said the closure in Katar Khak area had created problems for commuters, particularly the elderly and sick people, from Sheikh Ali and Surkh Parsa districts.  

A transport department official in Bamyan City, Abdul Basir, confirmed to Pajhwok Afghan News scores of passenger vehicles had to return from Katar Khak locality to Kabul and Bamyan. 

A driver, Khalifa Abdul Qayyum, said: “When I ask them why the road has been closed, the protestors say their candidate has been deprived of victory in the provincial polls.”    

Col. Yar Mohammad, the Siahgird district police commander, said the protestors had been mobilised by Malik Samad against his defeat in the provincial council election.

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