Commuters and other travelers are facing serious threats after Taliban insurgents increased their presence on the Herat-Badghis highway, according to local officials and lawmakers.
 
They said that the routes connecting several districts to Qala-e-Naw city, the center of Badghis province, have been closed due to the presence of the Taliban in these areas.
 
Meanwhile, a number of lawmakers in Afghanistan’s Wolesi Jirga (lower house of parliament) have said that the Taliban have put Badghis province under siege by closing the routes.
 
“We hope that our local officials, our security officials and particularly our officials in the center and the security agencies focus on this issue to avoid increasing fragility in the situation,” said Abdul Baseer Osmani, a member of parliament from Badghis.
 
“The situations are very bad, even our government employees, the businessmen or our residents, can't commute on the highway due to the presence of the Taliban,” said Ziauddin Akazi, a member of parliament.
 
The deputy governor of Badghis meanwhile said that the government is trying to clear the highway of the insurgents.
 
“There are threats on the highways, but the government is trying to remove the threats so that our countrymen can travel with confidence and peace,” said Faiz Mohammad Mirza Zada, the deputy governor of Badghis province.
 
But, local security officials in Badghis have said that the presence of Taliban on the highway will not be for long term.
 
“There are no serious problems, sometimes the enemies of the people of Afghanistan---the Taliban-- appear on the roads and highways to disrupt the security situation---they appear on the highways for five to ten minutes---if they create any problems, the security forces swiftly act against them and then the insurgents flee the area or are eliminated,” said Sher Aqa Alokozai, the head of the security department of Badghis police headquarters.