Nuristan council brings elections to Jalalabad

JALALABAD (PAN): Fleeing insecurity, Nuristan provincial council members on Tuesday elected their chief and other office bearers in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province.

However, Nuristan governor Tamim Nuristani called the elections as “illegal”, saying he had not been informed prior to the vote .

Inayat Rahman Mazhabyar was re-elected as Nuristan council chief, while Amanullah Inayat Rahman as his deputy.

A female, Khatira, was elected as secretary in the nine-member body. However, only five members participated in the elections.

After his election as the council head, Mazhabyar told reporters they held the elections in Jalalabad because insurgents in Nuristan held sway everywhere, from Paroon, Nuristan’s capital, to the Goslak area in neighbouring Kunar.

Nuristani said members living in Jalalabad took part in the election, adding the council’s head had been absent from official duty over the last nine months.

Nuristan police chief Brig. Gen. Ghulamullah rejected the claim as baseless that the security situation in the province was not favourable for the provincial council elections.

“It should have taken place in Nuristan because it was the legal constituency,” he said.

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