Abdul Latif Mansoor, acting minister of energy and water, stated that in order to prevent security threats, not just anyone should be allowed to enter the governing system.

Speaking at the inauguration of several water management projects in Paktia province, he added that around 70,000 members of the Islamic Emirate are sufficient to ensure the country’s security and defense.

He said: “Sometimes we tell our officials, ourselves, and group leaders to preserve these mujahideen as they are. In this way, no outsider will attack Afghanistan, and internal security will remain intact. But if we start thinking about expanding our groups by bringing in every unqualified, undisciplined, and even criminal person just to make our team look stronger—God forbid—we will lose security and stability, and then all of us will regret it, including ourselves.”

Mansoor also stressed that the caretaker government has a responsibility to provide the people with all the necessary facilities and services for a better life.

According to him, more than 340 small dams and several major reservoirs have been constructed in various regions of the country for water management alone.

He added: “The Islamic Emirate had planned to construct at least one small dam (check dam) in every district due to the widespread drought. Consequently, the leadership directed the Ministries of Energy and Water, Rural Rehabilitation and Development, and Agriculture to implement this in every district.”

Meanwhile, work has begun on four water management projects in Zormat district of Paktia, with a total budget of 15 million Afghanis, funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Mohammad Arif Momand, head of Kabul’s River Basin Authority, said: “The four projects we inaugurated in Zormat district will, God willing, be completed at a cost of 15.2 million afghani. These projects are being implemented with the support of charitable foundations affiliated with the UNDP.”

Mohammad Anwar Khan, a resident of Paktia, told TOLOnews: “One benefit of these projects is that the groundwater level will rise, second, they prevent flooding, and third, our farmlands will be irrigated as a result.”

Additionally, construction has begun on a new two-story administrative building for the Paktia provincial office of the Ministry of Energy and Water at an estimated cost of 12 million afghani.