Residents of Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi called on government to hand over the security responsibility of the area to the people. They argued that they can ensure their safety better than government forces.

The residents said government lacks the ability to maintain the security of the area. 

“The situation will further worsen if government fails to take a serious decision for ensuring people’s safety,” said Sayed Muntazir Muntaziri, a resident of Dasht-e-Barchi. 

“We cannot go for football and cannot do sports. We do not know what this government is doing with the people. If government cannot maintain people’s security, then it should distribute weapons to people,” said Abdul Hamid Rezaee, a resident of Dasht-e-Barchi. 

Dasht-e-Barchi is located in west of Kabul that encompasses PD13 and PD18. It was the most secure area in the past years, but recently it has witnessed deadly explosions.

On Wednesday, Daesh targeted a wrestling gym in Dasth-e-Barchi,  killing 26 people and wounded nearly 100 others. 

Over 500 residents of Dasht-e-Barchi have already taken guns to maintain security of over 100 mosques in the area. 

“If government does not have the ability to maintain security, it should give weapons to the people,” said Sajad Hussain, member of local forces. 

“Government cannot maintain security and I had to take weapon,” said Abdul Hamid Alizada, member of the local forces. 

Chaman Ali Behsodi, 60, a commander of the local forces in Dasht-e-Barchi, said the forces can act better than security forces in safeguarding people’s safety. 

“Currently, we maintain security of 101 mosques and we have over 500 weapons. This process has been effective because so far no incident has happened in the mosques where we are responsible for their security,” said Behsodi. 

The Ministry of Interior said arming Dasht-e-Barchi residents is not possible.

“It is impossible that people say the ordinary people should be given weapons. But if they have any comprehensive plan for safeguarding people’s lives, they should share it with the security department,” said Nusrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for Ministry of Interior. 

The local forces in in Dasht-e-Barchi are responsible for maintaining security of big gatherings in the area including their ritual events.