Media reports about Nuristan disputed

JALALABAD (PAN): The Nuristan provincial council on Wednesday disputed media reports that put at four the number of schools closed in the province due to insecurity.

Amanullah Inayatur Rahman, the council’s deputy head, told Pajhwok Afghan News up to 60 percent of schools in the province had been shut because of security concerns.

He accused the provincial government of providing wrong information to media outlets about the security situation in the eastern province.

The public representative came hard on some media organisations for not consulting residents and their representatives on provincial problems. “The media would not do so because it doesn’t want real faces of officials to be exposed.”

Rahman urged all media outlets to stop misleading propaganda regarding Nuristan because it had a negative impact on the lives of its dwellers. “Every media report should be based on facts.”

He claimed some government officials were involved in giving wrong information to the media to put pressure on the central government and serve their personal interests.

Rahman claimed some policemen were recently killed in an airstrike, but local officials said they were insurgents. He claimed having evidence in support of his assertion.

He also disputed another official claim that 1,000 insurgents had gathered to attack the Want Waigal district of the province.

But all claims of Rehman were rejected as baseless by the governor’s spokesman, Mohammad Zahir Bahand, who said no council member, except Dr. Shams, was living in Nuristan.

“We are in Nuristan and better know what is going on here. How can they (council members) speak the truth when they live in Kabul or Nangarhar,” he asked.

ma/mud

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