Taliban Increase Presence on Kabul-Jalalabad Highway: Drivers

Passengers and drivers traveling on the Kabul-Jalalabad highway on Thursday expressed deep concern over what they see as a rising security threat and the growing presence of the Taliban.

They said that the Taliban have established checkpoints on the highway.

The passengers said that the Taliban also frequently attack those cars allegedly carrying government servants.

Meanwhile, residents in the Sarobi district of Kabul have said that the Taliban exist in several villages of the district and sometimes the insurgents shoot at the cars passing on the highway.

“Yesterday there was fighting on the highway, fighting breaks out three or four times a week,” said Naseer Agha, a driver.

“We have two vulnerable areas here from which the insurgents try to pose threats, foreign intelligence is also involved in security issues,” said Hazratullah, the district governor of Sarobi.

“Problems exist in Tangi and Mahipar areas, threats have also had an impact on hotel business and bazars,” said Baseer, a resident in Sarobi.

The Interior Ministry meanwhile said that the Taliban have no strong presence in Kabul districts. The Ministry pledge to fix the security issues on the highway very soon.

“The security forces have a strong presence on the route, we will not allow the Taliban to disrupt law and order,” said Tariq Aryan, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense.

Kabul-Nangarhar highway once was one of the safest highways in the country. But drivers and passengers on the highway have said that the presence of Taliban on the route has created major concerns for the people.