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KABUL (PAN): The Kabul-Kandahar Highway was blocked for hours by
protesting Kochis in the Arghani area of Paghman district of Kabul on
Tuesday, witnesses said.
A Pajhwok reporter who visited the area at 3pm said the nomads had
placed rocks on the busy roads in the Bar Kalay area of Arghandi to protest
the killing of a man from the tribe.
A district police officer, who wished not to be named, said the protestors
were armed residents of the area. However, he would not explain why the
road had been closed.
A passenger, Abdul Ghafar who reached the area on foot, said the Kochis
had blocked the highway at three points. He added there were women
carrying sticks, armed men standing behind them and unarmed people
preventing passengers from travelling.
Ghaffar claimed seeing the body of a Kochi tribesman killed by police and
two injured people. He blamed police for the incident that left hundreds of
passengers and cargo vehicles stranded.
One local official said on condition of anonymity that the Kochis had
pitched a camp in the area and wanted to grab land. The nomads claimed
the land was part of their pasture, but police have been directed not to
allow anyone to set up camps in the area.
In line with the directives, the nomads were prevented from grabbing the
land. As a result, they staged a demonstration and beat up policemen, the
official said.
Mohammad Masoom, a passenger travelling from Kandahar to Kabul, asked:
"Why are they creating problems for commuters in this hot weather? I have
been trapped here along with my wife and children for more than five
hours."
Haji Alok Khan Kakozai, a Kochi leader in Kabul, said members of his tribe
wanted to build a house in the area, but police fired on them, killing one
man and wounding another.
He insisted the Kochis, having land ownership documents, reserved the
right to build a house in the area. As of 4pm, the highway remained closed.
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