Jumbish ends protest in Jawzjan, stages in Sar-i-Pul

SAR-I-PUL CITY/SHIBERGHAN (PAN): As Rashid Dostum’s supporters called off their protest in Jawzjan on Saturday, his hundreds others supporters staged a protest rally in Sar-i-Pul province against the Jawzjan governor.

Most shops in Sar-i-Pul city were closed due to the protest rally that emerged from Dostum’s Jumbish party office and assembled at the main square around 8am. The protestors were chanting slogans against the Jawzjan governor, Mohammad Alam Saee, calling for his removal.

Last week, Dostum and his gunmen reportedly attacked the governor’s house in Shiberghan and clashed with the governor’s guards for at least 10 minutes.

A day after the incident, hundreds of Dosum’s supporters on Wednesday launched a protest against Saee in Shiberghan, accusing him of attacking their leader.

However, the protest was called off on Saturday after tribal elders met with Dostum and informed him about their talks with the governor.

The protest in Shiberghan began four days ago and called off on Saturday morning after tribal elders intervened to resolve the dispute between the Uzbek warlord and Saee.

Maulvi Abdul Hai Hayat, an aide of Dosum and the provincial council chief, said they ended the protest in the interest of the nation and the people of Jawzjan.

He said the protest came to an end after progress was achieved in the talks between tribal elders and Dostum.

However, Saee has accused the former military general of forcing him to support his party and cut off ties with the Karzai government.

The Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) later warned Dosum against creating chaos in the province, saying it supported the governor and condemned the attack.

“No one has the right to challenge the sovereignty of central government,” the IDLG warned in a statement.

In Sar-i-Pul, one of the rally organisers, Haji Saifullah, told Pajhwok Afghan News they wanted the Jawzjan governor to be unseated for his failure to maintain security and ensure good governance in the province.

Besides Jumbish party activists, a large number of local people took part in the rally against the governor, he said.

However, shop owners in Sar-i-Pul city complained they had to close their businesses due to the rally.

Mohammad Jan, who owns a shop in the square, said such rallies should be organised away from marketplaces.

“When I came to my shop in the morning, I heard an announcement on loudspeakers that all shops should be closed because a rally is going to be carried out.”

Sar-i-Pul police chief Brig. Gen. Abdul Rauf Taj said the rally began around 8am and culminated around 11am.

In Jawzjan, the provincial council chief said the anti-governor rally in Sar-i-Pul had been planned before their decision to call off the protest in Shiberghan.

myn/ma

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