KABUL - President Ashraf Ghani has directed the Ministries of Defence and Interior to ensure respect for security reforms in clearing operations and streamlining the police force.
Ghani issued the directives at separate meetings with elders from Helmand, Uruzgan, Farah, Daikundi and Nimroz provinces, the Presidential Palace said.
A statement from Ghani’s office said on Friday that a wide range of issues, including security, development and social problems, came up for discussion at the meetings.
A tribal elder, Amir Hafizullah, civil society activist Sardar Mohammad Hamdard and provincial council member Ibadullah Alizai commended the Helmand governor’s performance.
They praised the governor’s efforts for reforms in judicial organs and other departments. They also informed the president of insecurity on the Helmand-Kandahar highway.
According to the statement, they suggested greater powers for the president to counter graft, reform police ranks and effective operations to strengthen security in the province.
Ghani instructed the relevant quarters to focus on dealing with development, social and security challenges being faced by Helmand residents. He also underlined the need for public cooperation with the government.
While ordering the interior minister to evolve a police reform plan and share it with him, the president said he had empowered the Helmand governor to evaluate the performance of provincial departments and take remedial steps.
The defence minister was directed to ask the 215th Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) to draw up a plan for a counterinsurgency offensive in the province.
Separate, Uruzgan Provincial Council Chairman Amir Khan Barakzai, member Abdullah Haqbin and tribal elder Haji Rahmatullah briefed the president on highway security, health, education and development issues.
Ghani asked the Uruzgan governor to devise a clear reform blue-print. He remarked district chiefs should have close coordination with the people so as to better understand their problems and resolve them effectively.
On behalf of Nimroz residents, Haji Niamatullah, Mohammad Siddique Chakhansuri and Abdullah Noori welcomed the government’s special attention to the province.
They acknowledged the drinking water problem had been resolved to some extent, but called for enhance security, work on the third phase of Kamal Khan dam, construction of the Zaranj ring road and a second link near the Abresham Bridge.
In response, Ghani ordered the authorities concerned to launch preliminary work on the second bridge as soon as possible. The Kamal Khan dam, a longstanding demand of Afghans, would be completed soon, he promised.
The president also assured the delegates that work on the ring road and a dry port would also be initiated. A railroad and other infrastructure projects are also on the cards for Nimroz.
Speaking to public representatives and elders from Farah, Ghani described the enforcement of security and development plans as a top priority.  He said reforms had been brought to ANA ranks and the process was underway in the police force.
He said a high-level delegation would visit Farah to evaluate the performance of provincial departments and suggest reforms therein. A system of rewards and punishments would be put in place in the province.
Justice will be enforced, according to the president, who called the practice of land-grab unacceptable. (Pajhwok)