FEROZKOH - Hundreds of residents of western Ghor province on Wednesday shut all government departments, including the governor’s house.
Angered by what they called discrimination against certain provinces in the budget, about 1,000 people staged a demonstration in the provincial capital at 7am and shut the doors to all government offices.
They complained most of roads in the province were in bad condition and majority of people did not have access to electricity and other elemental services.
The protestors chanted: “We have no minister, no deputy minister and no say in the decision-making process. Nothing has been done so far for the uplift of this province.”
Mohammad Ahmadi, an inhabitant of Ferozkoh, told Pajhwok Afghan News: “We have voiced our concerns several times, but no one listened, so we have closed government offices. We would not allow Ministry of Finance officials who work in the province.”
Haidar Khairkhwah, another demonstrator, alleged: “The government has long trampled on our rights. As a result, we have decided to ignore the government and its representatives.”
Governor Ghulam Nasir Khaze said they had repeatedly shred genuine demands of the people with the central government. However, he lamented, voices of Ghor residents were not headed.
Earlier, lawmakers from the western region slammed the government for failing to construct the Ghor-Herat-Kabul highway. They also demanded allocation of more funds for the road.
The said funds for the construction of the route should be allocated in the budget. Discrimination against the province should end and people must be given their due rights, the MPs stressed.
The Wolesi Jirga approved the draft national budget for the current fiscal year today (Wednesday). Of the 428 billion afghanis, 289 billion afghanis have been earmarked in general spending. The development budget stands at 139 billion afghanis. (Pajhwok)