Farah Provincial Council Elections

FARAH CITY (Pajhwok): Five days of clashes between security forces and insurgents have displaced hundreds of families in Khak-i-Safed district of western Farah province, officials said on Monday.
The gun battles that continued for five consecutive days forced hundreds of families in Khoshkabi, Korghan, Nawi Deh and some other areas to flee their homes and move to Push-i-Rod and Bala Baluck districts of the province, a member of the provincial council, Dadullah Qani, told Pajhwok Afghan News. He had no information about casualties in the clashes.

FARA CITY (Pajhwok): Members of the Provincial Council (PC) on Monday complained against the increasing number of mysterious killings in the capital of western Farah province, asking the government to prevent the loss of precious lives.
Deputy head of the council, Khair Mohammad Moorzai, told a gathering that more than 20 persons, including security officials and common people, had been mysteriously killed during the past three months.
He said targeted killings had terrified people and had deprived them of a free movement.

FARAH CITY (Pajhwok): A number of Afghan Local Police (ALP) in Balabuluk district in western Farah province joined Taliban ranks, an official confirmed.
The number of deserters has reportedly stood between five to 20. Iqbal Baher, Farah police spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News 13 ALP personnel, including their commander Sher Aqa, joined Taliban on Tuesday night in Grani locality.
He did not go into details but Farid Bakhtawar, provincial council head, said at least 15 local policemen have joined Taliban and taken away their arms with them.

FARAH CITY (Pajhwok): Construction process of a key bridge connecting three districts with the capital of western Farah province has kicked off, an official said on Thursday.
The construction of the bridge -- 200 metres long and 18 metres wide -- begun in Rigi locality of the provincial capital on Wednesday, provincial economic director Zahir Shah Khadim told Pajhwok Afghan News.
He said the project worth of 71.4 million Afghanis was sponsored by the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) and would take 15 months to complete.

FARA CITY (Pajhwok): Majority of residents of western Farah province on Thursday expressed satisfaction over the performance of provincial council while some accused the council’s members of not taking initiatives to development the province.
But Farid Bakhtawar, head of provincial council, pledged they had taken a number of steps for the progress of the province.

FARAH (Pajhwok): At least 12 Daesh or Islamic State (IS) fighters, including two commanders, have been killed in western Farah province as a result of Afghan National Army (ANA) airstrikes, officials said on Saturday.
Brig. Gen. Mir Asadullah Kohistani, an official of 202th Zafar Corps, told Pajhwok Afghan News the air assault took place in Islamabad locality of Khak-e-Safid district on Thursday night.

FARAH CITY/QALA-I-NAW (Pajhwok): Protest rallies were staged on Monday in western Farah and northwestern Badghis provinces against Wolesi Jirga’s decision barring provincial councils from overseeing the performance of provincial entities.
On Wednesday, the lower house amended the law on provincial councils by a majority vote, barring PCs from evaluating and overseeing the performance of local government departments.
The decision sparked protests by PC members in several provinces and they closed their offices to put pressure on the lower house to reverse its decision.

FARAH CITY (Pajhwok): The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has conferred a good performance award on the Farah governor in acknowledgement of his services to the people.
But the provincial council and civil society activists condemned the UN move as unjust, accusing the governor of being inefficient and incompetent.
Governor Mohammad Omar Sherzad received the award from local UNAMA officials on Thursday at a ceremony attended by government officials and others.

FARAH CITY (Pajhwok): Following hectic efforts by provincial council members, two roads, which were blocked for years, had been reopened for pedestrians and vehicles in Farah City.
A road in the first police district leading to the main hospital had been closed for the last three years because of security problems. Similarly, another road in front of police offices remained shut for seven months.