Strongmen a bigger threat than Taliban, Uruzgan governor says

The governor of central Uruzgan province on Monday said strongmen and land-grabbers were more dangerous than Taliban insurgents.
Governor Mohammad Sahfiq Asadullah Saeed was addressing a meeting attended by civil and military officials and a delegation of senators from Kabul at the governor’s house.
He identified poverty, poor education process, presence of strongmen and land grabbers among other serious problems in addition to insecurity being faced by local people.
“Local strongmen have deep roots in civil and military organs in Uruzgan and whenever the governor’s house takes action against them, some areas and military organs later fall to the militants”, he said.
He said the local administration had started its struggle against strongmen over the past few months, but still some circles existed and had created problems for the entire administration and people.
Saeed said he had shared people’s complaints about strongmen and land grabbers with the Presidential Palace.
Mohammad Hanif Hanafi, a senator from Uruzgan province, and head of the complaints commission of Meshrano Jirga, confirmed the presence of powerful figures in the province and demanded action against them.
He said there were many problems in Uruzgan and the government needed to pay more attention to them.
Uruzgan civil and military officials also asked the governor and the Meshrano Jirga delegation to pay attention to the security situation of the province and resume development projects that had been suspended for the last few years.