Senior Officials Appointed in Kandahar

Kandahar residents said they expect improvement in the security situation of the province with the new changes.

The new governor and the new head of the NDS office in Kandahar were introduced to their colleagues by the National Security Adviser at a ceremony in the province on Sunday.

Rohullah Khanzada was appointed as the new governor of Kandahar, replacing Hayatullah Hayat, and Ata Mohammad Khan was appointed as the new head of the NDS office.

“Kandahar residents were very concerned about their security. They made some demands to Mr. President. One of them was a reshuffle in local leadership, another was a change in security official posts,” National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib said.

Reports indicate that Hayatullah Hayat was removed from his post over his complaints about the existence of a big number of ghost soldiers in the province.

“We were and are faced with problems in rule of law and I ask Mr. Governor to overcome the people’s problems by bringing reforms,” Hayat said.

“People are unified among each other, but unfortunately Kandahar has reached this situation because of four or five elders,” new Kandahar governor Rohullah Khanzada said.

Kandahar residents said they expect improvement in the security situation of the southern province with the new changes in the leadership of the province.

“It is a good step. We hope that the problems are removed,” said Bismillah Mohammadi, a Kandahar resident.

“Changes are needed to come in all institutions. Security is bad and people are concerned,” said Qahir Khan Nayab, a Kandahar resident.

Kandahar and its neighboring province Helmand have faced unprecedented attacks by the Taliban in the last three months. Following the attacks, the central government removed eight high-ranking officials in the two provinces, including governors as well as police and security officials.