Uprisings Against Taliban Reported in Afghan Provinces
Following similar uprisings against the Taliban in Ghazni and Paktia provinces, Afghan authorities are now claiming that the local people in the eastern Laghman province revolted against the Taliban due to the atrocities committed by the latter in their areas. Taliban are denying these claims and certain elected Afghan officials have also expressed reservations about the issue.
Muhammad Iqbal Azizi, governor of Laghman, hailed the courage of the local people in the Alishang and Daulat Shah districts for rising up against the Taliban. His office in a statement said residents refused to submit to a group of armed people who came from outside and told them that killing people supporting the Afghan government was justified. The statement said the armed group linked to the Taliban was also planting roadside bombs to target the security forces.
However, the deputy head of the elected provincial council of Laghman, Gulzar Sangarwal, disputed the claim by the governor’s office and termed it false. He told the media that Governor Azizi was making such claims to prolong his stay as governor. He said no such uprising has taken place anywhere in Laghman. Instead, he stressed that the security situation was deteriorating in Laghman and the governor needed to be replaced. It may be added that differences between the governor and Laghman’s provincial council have increased over the past several months.
In Ghazni, the reported uprising against the Taliban was stated to be in Andar district. In Paktia, reports said members of the Andar tribe living there turned against the local Taliban to show solidarity with the Andar tribe in Ghazni. Taliban claimed the people opposing them were paid by the US authorities to form militias against Taliban. Taliban insisted that this small group of people had no local support and would be subdued in due course of time.