Priz pledges better Helmand security

KABUL (Pajhwok): President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai promised on Friday his administration would take effective measures to improve the security situation in southern Helmand province.

Ahmadzai held out the pledge during a meeting with public representatives, tribal elders and youth from the province at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, his office said.

The public representatives congratulated the president and announced their support for the national unity government’s development and peace agenda, a statement from the Palace said.

Haji Shah Agha, one of the delegates, complained of rampant corruption in provincial departments. He urged the president to use all his power to enforce peace, dispense justice and eradicate administrative graft.

“While seeking good governance and transparency in government affairs, we won’t accept corruption-tainted individuals,” the public representative remarked. “There is no place for war and hatred in our hearts; we desire peace, security, rule of law and good governance.”

Another delegate, Eng. Abdul Manan, said the residents of Helmand needed basic infrastructure development projects, government support for saffron cultivation, mechanisation of agriculture, religious schools, extraction of mines in a professional way, an end to smuggling and expansion of the Kajaki power dam.

Abdul Manan also called for serious steps to bring peace and security to Helmand, a review of prisoners’ cases, addressing the shortage of qualified teachers, a crackdown on spurious drug imports and the construction of schools as well as a building for the Helmand University.

In response, the president assured his government would take serious steps to addressing the problems of Helmand. He suggested the formation of a grand jirga that would be consulted on ways of dealing with provincial issues. 

There was an urgent need for peace and stability in the country, the president acknowledged, explaining the goal could not be achieved without cooperation from the masses. He went on to ask religious scholars to raise their voice for peace and stability.

pr/mud

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