8 years on, key Paktika road remains blocked

SHARAN (Pajhwok): Local residents on Thursday asked the government to reopen a road connecting three border districts in southeastern Paktika province. Insurgents have blocked the road in Gowashtai area for the past eight years.

Commuting on the road has been problematic due to Taliban.

Hanif, a resident, told Pajhwok Afghan News Taliban stopped and searched passengers on the road round-the-clock.

He said government officials could not travel on the road and security convoys had come under attacks from insurgents.

Resident Abdul Ghani Paktin, a politician, told Pajhwok Afghan News the three border districts had been cut off from the provincial capital, Sharan, and other districts over the past eight years.

 “Residents of these towns are vulnerable to threats posed by militants and have long been deprived of health through the Zhob highway (in Balochistan).”

Governor Abdul Karim Matin said the road had been closed for the past eight years and Afghan security troops and government officials could not commute with ease.

He said on the day one when he took over as governor, he called a security meeting regarding clearing the road in compliance with orders from the president.

“The plan is ready and security officials are tasked with reopening the road,” he said, promising equal heath and education facilities for all residents of Paktika.

hs/ma

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