By: Shukria Kohistani
Thousands of internally displaced people who have been recently displaced from their home areas due to increasing insecurities and surge in Taliban attacks are asking the government to clear their home areas from presence of Taliban so that they can return back to their homes.
A number of families who have been recently displaced from their homes in their interviews with The Kabul Times correspondent said recent surge in Taliban attacks in their districts have caused mass displacement in their areas. “War has demolished our life. We have lost everything as Taliban terrorists have set our homes on fire. We take the opportunity and left everything behind and came to Kabul,” said Khair Mohammad, father of an internally displaced family from Takhar. He asked the government to free their area from the presence of the Taliban fighters so that they can return back to their homes. Mahnaz, another member of an internally displaced family says she is tired of continued war and violence in the country.
“We had good life in our home, but unfortunately Taliban changed our life to hell. Now we’re living in Kabul,” Mahnaz said, adding that they will return back to their home area after the government free all areas from presence of Taliban fighters.
A number of other internally displaced families are also asking for clearing their home areas from the presence of Taliban fighters.
Meanwhile, state ministry of disaster management has informed of displacement of more than 32,000 families in the past two months in 25 provinces of the country.
Following the announcement of US and NATO troops withdrawal process from Afghanistan in May, surge in Taliban attacks in hundreds of districts of the country have forced thousands of families to leave their homes.
“The number of internally displaced families is increasing by passing each single day as Taliban has intensified their attacks and violence almost in all districts of the country,” said Ghulam Bahauddin Jailani, state minister for disaster management.
He added so far nearly 20,000 internally displaced families have been addressed and aids were being dispatched to other internally displaced people living in various parts of the country.
According to state ministry for disaster management, nearly 62,480 families have been displaced as a result of surge in Taliban attacks and insecurities across the country. Jailani added that more than 52,000 families have received necessary assistance provided by state ministry for disaster management.
Jailani further said that nearly 5 million families have been displaced from their home areas due to Taliban attacks and violence in the past two years, adding that most internally displaced people have been displaced from their homes areas to big cities including Kabul, the capital.
Afghan government officials have said efforts are underway in close coordination with relevant international organizations, donor agencies and relevant government institutions to provide further necessary assistance to internally displaced families across the country.
