Residents and local officials of Khak-e-Jabar district in Kabul province on Friday raised concerns over “influence and movements” of Taliban in the district. 

Khak-e-Jabar district is located in southeast of Kabul and the distance between the district and Kabul city is only 40 kilometers. 

Khak-e-Jabar Police Chief Mohammad Edris Yadgari said the number of Taliban fighters in the district has increased by four times following a ceasefire between government and the group in June. 

Yadgari said the Eid-al-Fitr ceasefire caused security forces to become more vulnerable to movements by the Taliban. 

“The enemy used the opportunity (Eid ceasefire). Their number increased and they commuted to the district. But this time when government announced ceasefire, they did not accept. Their number has increased while it was much less in the past,” said Yadgari.

“We have asked government to establish the National Army bases in three locations in the district, but the call has not been accepted so far. If government establishes the bases, I can say that Khak-e-Jabar will be a fully secure district,” District Governor Sayed Sulaiman said.  

Four kilometers from the police headquarters and district buildings, there is a village named Chakari which is located on a hilltop and shares border with Azra district in Logar province. 

“They (Taliban) had injured him (a police officer) on the way to the village. Then took him to Khawja Khalil area and then took him to Tezin area to Mullah Ezatullah, Taliban’s shadow governor and killed him there,” said Wazir Gul Nasiri, a policeman in the district. 

According to residents, Taliban sometimes establish check posts in Chakari village. 

The residents said they are worried about Taliban movements and their presence in the district. They said some Taliban members entered the district during the June ceasefire but did not went back to their areas. 

“They come from Pakistan and carry out attacks here. We hear gunfire every day. They pull out people out of their houses. One day, they killed an old man,” said Gul Zaman, a resident of Khak-e-Jabar. 

“Our district is vulnerable. We have not seen the city yet. But people are trying to get education, both men and women,” said Khanullah, a resident of the district.

In addition to security problems, the residents said they also face other problems such as lack of schools for girls. 

There is only one girls school in the district which has 300 students and four female teachers. 

In total, there are 12 schools in the district of which one is a high school, and one is secondary, and the rest are primary schools. 

The children who cannot go to schools, are going to Madrassas and study religious subjects.