Govt criticized for fall of strategic areas in North

KABUL (Tolo News): Lawmakers from Kunduz and Jawzjan strongly blasted the government, accusing it of not paying sufficient attention to the situation in the north as the Taliban gain control of strategic areas, including Jawzjan’s provincial capital Sheberghan and parts of Kunduz city in Kunduz province.
They said other cities in the north are currently threatened. “The situation in Kunduz affects the situation in Takhar and Baghlan. And is an important location,” said Mirza Mohammad Yarmand, the former deputy minister of interior. “The Taliban was focused on Kunduz as an important location but the government saw it as a small village,” said Rabbani Rabbani, a member of Kunduz’s provincial council.
A group of Kunduz residents held a rally in front of the Presidential Palace, criticizing a lack of support for troops in the province. “Our people have no shelter. Those who are in Kabul have no place to live. Others have been caught there. Some have been killed and wounded,” said Jawad Rafat, a Kunduz resident who attended a rally in Kabul. “Kunduz is called the ‘little Afghanistan’ because it houses all respected ethnic groups. Now they have concentrated the power with one team or group,” said Amruddin Wali, the head of the Kunduz provincial council.
Meanwhile, some members of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan (Junbish-e-Milli) said that more cities in the north will come under threat if the Taliban advances are not prevented in Kunduz. “The issue is there was a rivalry between Marshal Dostum and others–some who did not want Junbish joined the Taliban; otherwise the Taliban would not have had the ability to overrun Jawzjan,” said Bahruddin Jawzjani, a tribal elder from Jawzjan.
“If the government does not start an operation, it will have a negative impact on all the northern and northeastern provinces,” said Halima Sadaf Karimi, an MP from Jawzjan. As concerns grow about the country’s situation, government officials have spoken about President Ghani’s security plan, but the details of the plan have not yet been made public.