General Akhtar Ibrahimi, senior deputy head of the Interior Ministry, on Monday said in Faryab that security departments will arrest all groups of illegal armed men across the country and will hand them over to the legal and judicial centers for prosecution. 

Ibrahimi, who has been in Faryab along with a delegation since Thursday, said illegal armed groups are a huge threat to the security of the country and that some of these groups have been controlling government offices in parts of the country. 

Ibrahimi, and the delegation, were sent to Faryab on Thursday to ease tension in the province following the arrest of Nizamuddin Qaisari, police chief of Faryab’s Qaisar district and close aide to the exiled First Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum.

In addition to Ibrahimi, the delegation includes Abdul Matin Bek, the head of the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG); Mohammad Sharif Yaftali, Chief of General Staff Afghan National Army (ANA); and Ebadullah Ebad, the deputy provincial head of National Directorate of Security (NDS).

“The illegal armed men have grabbed people’s and government land and properties and they even the security of the highway under their control,” Ibrahimi said. 

The delegation’s task has been to calm tension and prevent chaos, keep Faryab under government control and hold talks with people over the Qaisari issue, Ibrahimi said. 

Members of the delegation on Monday said they have made good progress and have managed to thwart further problems.  

“Our job is to maintain security of Maimana city, its security belt and strategic points of the city,” Yaftali said. 

“It was one of our weaknesses that we could not maintain security for the people and it is because of the illegal armed men. Now we have find the main roots of the problems,” Abdul Matin Bek said.

In the meantime, demonstrations continued for the seventh day in the provincial capital, Maimana city, over Qaisari’s arrest. Protestors have repeatedly called for his release.

“Residents of Maimana have continued their demonstrations on Monday the seventh day for justice,” a resident of Faryab said. 

Meanwhile, sources told TOLOnews that Second Vice President Mohammad Sarwar Danish and Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled Minister Faizullah Zaki are in Turkey for talkswith Dostum.

Sources said the two officials will discuss matters around the ongoing tension in the northern parts of the country.  

Qaisari was arrested by Special Forces last Monday for reportedly having insulted and threatened government officials.  

Currently he is in custody in Kabul pending the outcome of an investigation.