Maqur uprising leaders seek govt’s help

GHAZNI CITY (Pajhwok): Leaders of uprising groups in the Maqur district of southern Ghazni province on Monday urged the government to assist them in their fight against the Taliban or absorb them into the police service.

Commander Faizullah, who spearheads an anti-Taliban tribal militia, told Pajhwok Afghan News in an exclusive interview that they had beeen waging a war on the rebels but needed government’s assistance.

He said he had lost four members of his family to clashes with the insurgents and vowed to fight on. “The government should come to our aid, should assist us or absorb our fighters into the mainstream police force,” he demanded.

To a question that if the government did not assist them, he said it would not bring their morale down, but said the government should understand that they needed its help.

Faizullah did not specifically mention what assistance they needed from the government. He said the guns they used had been snatched from insurgents during clashes with them.

Syed Ali, who leads another uprising group in the Maqur’s Khozai area, told Pajhwok Afghan News the government should pay attention to their cause.

“We will fight till the last breath against the armed insurgents, but the government should extend a helping hand,” said Ali, who demanded weapons and ammunitions.

Mohammad Anwar, who has been fighting against the rebels over the past one and a half year, said they had picked up guns to protect their people. He said no one had so far assisted them.

“What we are doing is to protect our communities for the sake of God,” he said, welcoming his leaders’ call for assistance by the government.

“We have insufficient guns, bullets and other ammunitions while the Taliban are well-equipped,” he said.

A tribal elder in the Namdar area, Abdul Samad, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the security situation in their area had improved after the uprisings.

“For years, there had been no security in Maqur, but we have a satisfactory security environment following the revolt,” the elder said.

A resident of the Khozai area, Haji Lal Mohammad, also urged the government to provide the uprising members with needed assistance.

Acting governor Musa Khan Akbarzada admitted the uprising members were in need of assistance, saying he had discussed the issue with the central government.

“The government should provide weapons to the tribesmen or enter them in the government security structure,” he opined. The acting governor said people in some areas complained that the fate of uprising groups should be made known.

Besides national police personnel, 200 local police members and about 300 uprising tribesmen have been keeping security in Maqur.

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