Anti-governor protest enters 3rd day

TIRINKOT (Pajhwok): Dozens of people continued their protest for a third day in a row on Monday against the governor of central Uruzgan province, paralysing trade activities.

The protesting residents of Tirinkot, the provincial capital, have been demanding the removal of Governor Amir Mohammad Akhundzada, accusing of him and some Wolesi Jirga and provincial council members of corruption.

But Akhundzada has rejected the allegations, calling the protestors law violators.

One of the protestors, Shamsullah, said they would continue to protest until the governor was unseated.

A resident of Mehrabad area warned they would not participate in the upcoming elections if the central government failed to meet their demands.

Shopkeepers complained the protests were having a grossly negative impact on their businesses and they had suffered financial losses.

The rallies had created many problems for residents, a civil society activist, Javed Khpalwak, said. He claimed the protestors had closed roads and burnt tyres.

Shopkeeper Haji Bari, also a tribal elder, said police were not allowing people to come out of homes over the past three days and as a result business activity had come to a halt.

Akhundzada said a peaceful demonstration was the right of people, insisting he had carried out many development activities and stopped low-quality work on some projects.

He added a handful of people could not represent the entire province. They would not be allowed to weaken the local economy through such tactics, he vowed.

mm/ma/mud

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