JALALABAD – Lawmaker Hazrat Ali on Monday claimed a Daesh military basewas operating in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province,bordering Pakistan, supplying weapons and fighters to districts.
Hazrat Ali, a Wolesi Jirga link> memberfrom Nangarhar, told a gathering at his residence here that weapons andother materials were supplied to Daesh loyalists from their military basenear the old customs office in Jalalabad.
“Two days ago, I captured an individual and kept him at my home untilSunday evening. He told me the IS center in located close to the oldcustoms office and militants are being trained, recruited, funded and armedthere,” Ali told the gathering attended by a large number of tribal elders.
Without naming anyone, the lawmaker alleged a well-known individual wasfunding Daesh and another one provided weapons to the outfit in Jalalabad.
He added the arrested person had been with him until Sunday evening aftersecurity forces did not arrive to arrest him. However, he said he hadcollected a lot of information from him and had informed security organs.
He also persuaded people to take part in the forthcoming elections andasked the government to pave the ground for fair and free process.
He warned insecurity could harm the electoral process in districts andsecurity organs should take serious measures in this regard.
Tribal elder Mohammad Alam Khogyani said people were being kidnapped on adaily basis and it was hard travel from one district to another even in thepresence of security forces.
But Attaullah Khogyani, the governor’s spokesman, termed Hazrat Ali’s theclaims as groundless and said no Daesh center existed in Jalalabad.
He confirmed security incidents used to happen and security threats alsoexisted in the province but denied the presence of a Daesh center inJalalabad.