Group arrested with night letters in Baghlan

MAIMANA (Pajhwok): Police have arrested a group they accused of distributing threatening letters to locals warning them against participation in the April elections in northern Baghlan province, an official said on Monday.

The eight-member group having links with the Taliban was arrested on Sunday night in Hussain Khel area of Pul-i-Khumri, the provincial capital, police chief Brig Gen Aminullah Amarkhail told a press conference.

Many night letters, three Kalashnikovs and a corolla car were discovered from the detainees, he said. The leaflets carried the logo of Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan, the name Taliban used for Afghanistan during their regime.

A resident of the area, Mohammad Akbar, told Pajhwok the group had been staying at the house of his neighbour until arrested by police last night.

 “We did not know what the men were doing in our area, but locals accuse the house owner of sheltering militants,” he said.

Akbar said the residents had been issued voter cards and they were committed to taking part in the elections.

mds/ma

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