GHAZNI CITY (PAN):  Almost all government offices have been closed in 12 districts of southern Ghazni province for more than four years, officials said on Wednesday.
Workers of the prosecutor’s office, district court, judicial organ and agriculture department are receiving salaries, while sitting at home, the Qarabagh district chief said.
Zaitullah Azimi told Pajhwok Afghan News he had been looking after other offices as well. The staff absence had created a gap between people and government, he said.
Despite the relevant quarters being informed, absenteeism continues in Maqur, Qarabagh, Gilan, Giro, Aabband, Andar, Zanakhan, Rashidan, Khugyani, Waghaz, Ajristan and Deh Yak.
Ghazni has 18 districts. Although the problem of the absence of government staffs was a big problem among most of the volatile districts, the officials in the capital city did not pay attention, community council head, Saleh Gul, said.
District chiefs, who stay in the provincial capital, go to their respective offices only for a few days, Azimi said.
Some of the districts, which have literally turned into police checkpoints, would fall to Taliban if foreign soldiers leave, said Abdul Nabi Yousufi, the Giro community council head.
Although all district offices in the restive districts had been closed, government officials remain unconcerned, he alleged.
Officials in Ghazni City confirmed the absence of government servants, linking it to insecurity in rural areas.
Since their security in districts was not ensured, the officials could not be sent forcibly to their duty stations, Director of Agriculture Sultan Hussain Abbasyar said.
Deputy head of provincial council, Amanullah Kamrani, admitted the district chiefs' offices had been closed and most of them passed on instructions to their subordinates over the telephone.
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