Saturday, December 28, 2019
Kabul (BNA) President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Thursday arrived in northeastern Badakhshan province to inaugurate some projects and meet local officials, a statement from the presidential press office said yesterday.
A statement from the Presidential Palace said that President Ghani met with a number of security officials, women, provincial council members, Ulema, civil society activists and youths of Badakhshan today.
The source said that Badakhshan people welcomed President Ghani’s arrival to the province and shared their problems and suggestions with him.
Construction of district roads, payment of grants to the families of martyrs and people with disabilities, building Doaba Power Dam, adding Baloch ethnicity word in identity cards, giving permission of lapis lazuli stones transfer, including civil society activists in the peace process, creating Badakhshan-China commercial route, supplying electricity to the province, legalizing mine extractions and some other were demands of the local people.
The statement added that the president thanked Badakhshan people for their support to Afghan security forces and said that the province was one of the richest in water and mines and it was one of eight economic zones of the country.
The real goal of creating economic zones is to connect provinces for economic development, Ghani was quoted as saying.
He said that Badakhshan youths have given many sacrifices in fighting alongside Afghan security forces and they have proved they think for the stability of Afghanistan.
“Afghan security and defense forces have the ability to defeat enemy in any part of the country, but there is need for people, particularly elders’ support for protection of cleared areas,” he said.
He added that clearing operation against insurgents would continue in Badakhshan until all the areas cleaned from militants.
Meanwhile in a separate meeting with elders of the four districts that have recently been cleared of Taliban’s presence, President Ghani said coordination among the Afghan forces have unprecedently improved and they were fully capable to suppress enemies in every corner of the country.
The elders of Wardoj, Yamgan, Karan o Manjan and Jurm districts praised Afghan forces braveries and thanked president’s attention towards security of the districts. They have also asked government to implement development projects in these areas.
In another separate meeting with women of Badakhshan province, President Ghani said nowadays Afghan women were representing themselves, adding it was a matter of pride for Afghanistan that a woman resenting the country in United Nations.
“Violence against women is not acceptable. We belong to a religion that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) has never shown violence against women,” the president said, adding a high women council would be established to consider the key role of women in all affairs.
The president went on saying that government was focusing to improve economic condition of women in districts, adding government would ease regional and global markets to their products, the statement said.
Representing others provincial head of women’s affairs Alena Gheyasi and senator Gulali Akbari spoke about women’s situation in the province and asked the president to help prevent violence against women, establish a deputy head of social affairs position in governor office, increase staff of the provincial women’s affairs directorate, ease scholarships for women and introduce women’s products in regional and global markets, the statement added.
