The grim situation of Nangarhar

Nangarhar, known among Afghans as an “evergreen province” for being green virtually in all four seasons and as a recreational destination, has recently become a “place of deaths” prompting its residents to flee. Without exception, there are reports of violence and terror attacks in the eastern province on a daily basis. Not only military and civilian government institutions are unsafe, but the residents of the province also do not feel safe at their homes. Complex attacks, suicide bombings, explosions, armed clashes, robberies, and kidnappings have become a daily routine. As part of a series of attacks, a group of suicide bombers stormed the refugee and repatriation department yesterday in Jalalabad, the provincial capital, at a time when the head of the department had a meeting with aid agencies.
Nangarhar is simultaneously faced with three major threats: the Taliban, Daesh, and mafia. The Taliban are operating in many districts of the province, and fighting against Daesh in addition to Afghan government forces. The province is also considered the birthplace of Daesh or the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Afghanistan, and therefore the group carries out attacks against military and civilian targets not only in districts, but also in Jalalabad city. Daesh fighters are effectively involved in target killings in the city, and even there are claims that they have hideouts within the city, and are very strong that they collect taxes from shops. Another major headache is the presence of strongmen and mafia that has turned the province into a living hell. The mafia circles often resort to disruptive activities whenever their interests are threatened.
The weakness of provincial administration is to blame for all the disruptive activities and woes the province is currently grappling with. Despite repeated shakeups in the provincial administration, Nangarhar is yet to get a leadership that is capable of countering anti-government elements and mafia at least in the provincial capital. Instead of tackling insecurity, which is the main problem affecting people’s lives, the provincial government is busy doing things that are not a priority.
The security situation of Nangarhar is intolerable. The central government has to act before the strategic province completely falls to the Taliban. The improvement of situation of Nangarhar starts from building an active and efficient provincial administration that should first fight mafia and corruption, and afterwards purge the city and then districts of militants by adopting logical approaches.