Afghanistan Peace CampaignThe day before, after the Kuchi protests in the ninth district of Jalalabad and subsequent gunfire, two were killed and four others were injured.
Local authorities in Nangarhar say the purpose of the land clearance related to the customs is to expand the Nangarhar customs area. Prior notice had been given to the residents of this area to evacuate.
Abdul Basir Zabuli, the spokesperson for the Nangarhar Security Command, stated: “When security forces and customs officials started their work here, the Kuchis launched an armed attack on the security personnel, which according to unconfirmed reports resulted in two Kuchis killed and four others injured.”
Qureshi Badloon, Director of Information for the Nangarhar Department of Information and Culture, said: “In the area where there was controversy and the customs wall was crossing, it was decided that no work would proceed from the customs side and the people would also stop their protests. The matter has now been sent to the leadership, and everyone is waiting for a decision.”
This comes after the commencement of clearance work on the lands related to the Nangarhar customs from the presence of Kuchi residents who had illegally built homes and settled there, leading to their protests.
Local residents say that more than 7,000 families have been living in this area for about 30 years.
They add that they are not opposed to the development of the Nangarhar customs, but the area should be legally handed over to them.
Nematullah Baz, a prominent Kuchi leader, said: “Previous governments had also told us not to build homes on a thousand jeribs of customs land, and that we could build homes in the plains instead.”
Minedar Ahmadzai, a local resident, said: “We ask the government to identify the perpetrators of yesterday’s incident.”
However, local officials in Nangarhar report that a commission has been appointed to investigate and identify the killers and to also resolve the controversies that have arisen between customs officials and local residents.