PULI KHUMRI (PAN): Complaining of living in a state of chaos and insecurity, people of Baghlan said the growing insecurity as compared to the past could be a conspiracy hatched by some vested interests in an attempt to sabotage the upcoming elections.
Considered as one of the most important province, Baghlan is a cross road between Kabul and six northern provinces of the country. The Baghlani Jadid district is considered among the insecure districts of the province from where insurgents launch attacks in other parts of the province and return back to their safe heavens.  
During the previous elections, more than two hundreds individuals decided to contest in elections in which four women and 11 men got succeeded.  
Arbab Faramoz, an elder of the Baghlan Jadid district said since last two months, insecurity was gaining momentum with the Taliban were moving in the area openly elsewhere in in Zakar Khel, Shafi Khel and Aab Qol localities.
He warned if the government failed to take serious steps in eliminating the miscreants then people would not be able to take part in the upcoming elections.   
He went on to say gap between the government and people has widened and the latter did not repose any more trust on the authorities anymore, adding the failure of government to resolve pressing problems such as grabbing of land by land mafia has considerably deepened the mistrust between the two.  Land mafia has grabbed more than 10,000 acres land in the province and the government was unable to take on those who violate law of the land.
The ongoing disturbance of security is a conspiracy, Faramoz said who added security of the province was derailed on the occasion of previous elections in an attempt to pave way for agents of mafia to succeed through rigging and similar things was feared to be repeated in the upcoming elections too.
“We will not be able to vote in favour of a right candidate but corrupt and traitor will win and become our representatives again,” he predicted.   
 
Mihrab-u-Din 27, resident of Nahrin district said inhabitants of his district could not confront supporters of warlords and mafia, adding people of his area suffered a lot by losing their near and dear ones and their properties following clashes among militant groups.
He said armed groups were supported by the members of provincial council, parliament and locals’ influential, adding those groups have firm control over the coal reserves of Chinarak.  
He went on to say the rehabilitation efforts of the government in the past few years were a mere waste of time, criticizing the authorities for inefficiency and low quality of work in the projects. He said massive bribes and corruption in local administration left negative impact on the quality of most of the projects. The construction of Nahrin-Baghlan Jadid road and few school buildings clearly spoke volume of low quality of work, he added.
Hamid, a resident of Puli Khumri the capital city of Baghlan province said: “Members of provincial council didn’t return to their constituencies despite of their tall claims to serve the masses. They spend most of the time while traveling to Dubai and Tajikistan for luxuries.”
He said everyone candidates won the elections by massive rigging and the public representatives did not bother to address the grievances of the poor people.
He said some public representatives of Baghalan associated themselves to a particular tribe who were not ready to take care of rest of the province, adding that that trend was creating a sense of alienation among the people not to take part in the elections.
Hamid, a student of Hakim Sanaee University said air pollution was another problem threatening the environment, saying that growing pollution in the congested city of Puli Khumri made the lives of people difficult.
He said the city development authority did not take any measures to protect rivers, bank of rivers and greeneries from pollution while the municipality administration was deliberately polluting the city and the adjacent localities.
Consensus and understanding among various institutions such as police force, traffic police, police stations and municipality staff did not exist and the widening gap among various institutions multiplied the problems of the people, he added.
He went on to say a large number of youths were addicted to drugs and their number was growing with accelerated steps but the government did not adopt measures to prevent the cultivation of opium. 
Zainab, an assistant head of Baghlan Civil Society expressed her concern about the increasing violence against women, adding that due to a host of problems trend of committing suicide among women witnessed record surge.
She said her organization recorded around five cases of violence against women including two suicides and three murders cases during the past couple of months.  
Zainab believed main factor behind the rising violence against women was the corrupt judiciary, warning that violence against would further accelerate if the concerned authorities failed to take steps to reverse the trend.
Foziah, a teacher of religious subjects in Baghlan said the government facilitated women in the past such as the establishment of Elite Women Civil Society Association and women empowerment. She said job opportunities were created for women in different fields of life, adding that some individuals were trying to create group based on language, race and tribes who then involved of committing violence against a particular race.
She said separate education institutions for women would not only resolve the issues of violence against women but girls would be encouraged to get education and take part in other activities.
Azizah, a businesswoman and resident of new city Puli Khumri said post-2014 scenario left everyone worried about the country’s future and its stability.
She said she had a decent income from the handcraft industry last year but during the current fiscal year, her income was affected due to the unpredicted post 2014 scenario.
“It is my fifth year in handcraft industry. I have six children and my husband died six year ago. I am the sole bread winner for my kids by working in the handcrafts industry,” she added.
Mohammad Aslam, a resident of Puli Hisar said he was preparing to leave his locality due to the growing instability and mayhem created by the militant groups.
Another resident of Nawak village said his family was leaving his native village because of multiple problems such as absence of health, education and other facilities including the growing law and order.
Muhammad Aslam 45 said that a dacoit known as Mujahid in Puli-Hisar district forced people to give him money and other valuables and forcing youth to work in his field to grow opium in areas under his control.
He said governors of Baghlan and Kabul were informed about the deteriorated state of situation but his grievances could not be addressed while the militants also roam freely in the area.
He said residents of the area took the arms for self-defense out of compulsion because the government failed to ensure its writ in far-flung area of the province.