MAIMANA (Pajhwok): Taliban insurgents on Monday held captive the police chief for Ghormach in northern Faryab province along with some of his men, a local official said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source told Pajhwok Afghan News Lt. Col. Abdul Majid Gleem Bafi, the Ghormach district police chief, was held captive on Monday afternoon. With his hands tied, the Taliban took him towards the district in a vehicle, the source added.
Dr. Naqibullah Faiq, a lawmaker from Faryab, wrote on his Facebook wall that some policemen, surrounded in three check posts in Ghormach, were killed after days of resistance and the police chief was held hostage by the Taliban along with dozens of other policemen.
Local officials in Faryab are yet to comment on the incident.
Before being taken hostage by the Taliban, the Ghormach police chief had told Pajhwok Afghan News that most of the policemen in two check posts were killed and he was in the third one.
“The situation is very bad. In five minutes if commando and air support do not come to our rescue, they should collect our corpses,” he had said.
Gen. Shereen Shah Kohbandi, the first division commander of the 209th Shaheen Military Corps, said after the district chief’s appeal he would immediately send air support to Ghormach district.
Sayed Abdul Baqi Hashemi, the provincial council head, said: “Ghormach police chief along with other policemen remained surrounded by Taliban for three days. We raised our voices to send them reinforcements, but nobody paid any attention.”
He said despite the presence of the 209th Shaheen Military Corps commander and representatives of the ministries of defence and interior and the National Directorate of Security in Faryab, no step was taken to rescue the district police chief and his men.
“The government is doing it purposely. It is the ‘5th pillar’ that did not help Ghormach and those who stand against Taliban,” he alleged.
Two nights back, the Taliban captured Ghormach district centre with security forces, including army personnel, taking positions in surrounding hills.
hg/ma