Afghanistan: Protests over orders to vacate illegal constructions, many dead

Several people were killed in a protest in the eastern province of Nangarhar on Thursday after Taliban officials ordered several houses to be vacated to make way for a building, a government official in Afghanistan said. Done.

According to the news agency AFP, the head of the Department of Information and Culture at the Torkham border point, Arafat Mehajer, says that the Taliban authorities have asked the residents to build a new building for the Customs Department on the road between the provincial capital Jalalabad and the Pakistani border. was ordered to clear the land.

However, the residents of the area responded with violence in which one Taliban official was killed while three people illegally occupying the land were also killed in the incident.

Arafat Mahajir further said that the main highway from Jalalabad to Torkham was also closed due to the protests and clashes.

According to eyewitness Jameel Katwal: ‘The authorities say the land is government property, but the residents, who belong to the Kuchi ethnic group, say they have the documents.’

“Three people died and some others were injured,” he told AFP news agency, referring to residents who participated in the protest.

He further said that ‘if the issues are not resolved, the protest will continue.’

Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, there have been few reports of protests in Afghanistan.

Last week, protests erupted in northeastern Badakhshan after clashes between Taliban security personnel and residents over the clearing of poppy crops left two people dead.