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| Afghanistan |
| Dand-e-Ghori Deal with Taliban Cancelled: Officials |
| 2015-10-24 |
| [ToloNews] The Head of Baghlan's Provincial Council on Thursday announced the Dand-e-Ghori deal has been cancelled after the Taliban violated the controversial accord which was followed by a public outcry. The deal was allegedly signed between some government officials and the Taliban in September and stipulated that neither the Afghan cops nor the Taliban could carry out operations or attacks respectively in Dand-e-Ghori area, which is part of Pul-e-Khumri city in Baghlan. The Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, Gulab Mangal, along with a number of tribal elders and local officials from Baghlan were said to have been part to the agreement - which critics claimed was a simple gesture of handing the area over to the Taliban. However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... Baghlan's provincial council head Mohammad Safdar Mohsini -- who was one of the signatories to the accord -- said the agreement no longer had any credibility following several attacks by the Taliban in the area. He called on government to send in troops to Dand-e-Ghori where he said Taliban were present in large numbers. "Taliban violated this accord several times. They were not abiding by this agreement, therefore, this is no longer valid," Mohsini said. Provincial council members have said the accord is no longer valid as it does not work in the interests of the people and the security forces. "We were against this accord from the beginning because after this agreement, our soldiers were being killed every day," provincial council member Mohammad Zarif Zarif said. Shamsul Haq Barekzai, another provincial politician said: "This accord took the fighting to other areas where the people paid the price." In addition, the police chief of Baghlan said the accord had prevented them from launching anti-insurgent operations. "This accord prevents us from launching operation. Now we are waiting for the decision of the central government," acting police chief Abdul Rashid Bashir said. Former governor of Baghlan and the provincial director of National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... (NDS) were both reportedly fired from their positions for having been involved in the deal. The Police Chief of Baghlan was also involved in the accord. He has allegedly left the province. |
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