The Ministry of Interior Affairs has started implementing new measures to decrease casualties among the Afghan National Police who are recently facing with high deaths on duty, a senior official of the ministry said on Wednesday.
There is no exact figure about the casualties among the Afghan police but last year President Ashraf Ghani mentioned at a ceremony that more than 45,000 security and defense force members paid the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against insurgents in the past four years under the National Unity Government.
“There are various factors for the cause of casualties and we are changing how we operate. Most of the casualties are from the police being in static positions, where they become targets for the enemy, so we are slowly shifting and moving from being static to (becoming) more mobile, so it will take some time, but we are changing how we operate,” said Gen. Khoshal Sadat, the Deputy Interior Minister, as quoted in a report by Reuters.
Sadat said there have been new appointments in 30 provincial police headquarters in recent months aimed at bringing reforms and preventing corruption.
Meanwhile, Acting Defense Minister Assadullah Khalid who met with Special Forces in Kabul said the Special Unit of the Afghan Army has played a crucial role in retaking areas under militants influence.
“I came here to celebrate Eid with our Special Forces who are often engaged in fighting against the enemy and sometimes they destroy the enemy’s prisons, sometimes they retake districts from the enemy and every moment they are ready to defend the country,” said Khalid.
The top US commander in Afghanistan Gen. Scott Miller, who also met with Afghan forces in Kabul, said that the Afghan people want a reduction in violence.
“As we’re going to Eid, I think it is a great time to reflect on the will of the people and the will of the people is that we reduce this violence and that we strive for peace in Afghanistan,” Miller said as he wished a happy Eid to all Afghans.
