Key Nuristan road reopens after 10-day closure

JALALABAD (PAN): A key road that connects Paroon, the capital of eastern Nuristan province, with several districts reopened late on Friday, 10 days after it was blocked by heavy snow, an official said Saturday.

Police chief Brig. Gen. Ghulamullah Nuristani told Pajhwok Afghan News commuters would face no problem on the road after snow-removing process had finished. The reopening would help bring down food prices that went up in various districts as a result of the blockade, he hoped.

But Amanullah Inayatur Rahman, the provincial council deputy head, rejected Nuristani’s claim that the road had been cleared of snow, insisting the route remained closed.

Stranded in Jalalabad due to the blockade, he said Nuristan experienced all types of communication breakdowns.

“We are awaiting an aircraft in Jalalabad to airlift us home. The Taliban also hinder efforts at keeping roads cleared”, he said.

He said Nuristan governor and the police chief had been in Kabul over the last two months. “How could they know that the road to Paroon has been cleared,” asked the public representative, who feared food shortages in Nuristan if timely action was not taken to reopen closed roads.

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