Elections: MoI Says Taliban Control 11 Districts

Ahead of the upcoming parliamentary polling which is set for next week, the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) says the Taliban are controlling 11 districts in the country and that 19 other districts are under high-security threats.

The MoI Spokesman Najib Danish on Saturday said that these 11 districts are located in northern and southeastern provinces including Dahan-e-Ghori in Baghlan, Nawa in Ghazni, Wardoj-Yamgan in Badakhshan, Kohistanat in Sar-e-Pul, Kakar in Zabul, Nawzad, Musaqala, Khanshin, and Baghran-Deshu in Helmand.

The official, however, assured of maintaining the security of the elections across the country.

“More than 50,000 troops consist of police, army and intelligence forces have been considered for Election Day to maintain the security of polling stations, Danish said.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) commissioner Hafizullah Hashimi, meanwhile, said that the security of about 5,000 voting centers has been ensured from a total of over 7,000 centers.

Following the issue, the election observers said that insecurity could question the transparency of the elections in some of the provinces and that the relevant institutions should maintain the security of the elections in these provinces.