PAN, October 10, 2012

Residents stage protest against ISAF raids

One of the organisers, Mullah Masoom, said ISAF troops raided his house a few days ago and detained two of his two family members

By Ali Mohammad Nazari

Hundreds of residents of southeastern Paktika province on Wednesday staged a protest against nighttime raids by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The protestors marched through parts of Sharan, the provincial capital, chanting slogans against ISAF and US troops and asking them not to bother ordinary people in the raids.

One of the organisers, Mullah Masoom, said ISAF troops raided his house a few days ago and detained two of his two family members. The foreign soldiers also arrested a moneychanger along with two sons in a similar operation, he claimed.

May 1, 2012: Afghan villagers stand around the bodies of loved ones who were allegedly killed in an Afghan-led operation in Laghman east of Kabul, Afghanistan. NATO says a Taliban leader and another insurgent were killed after they opened fire on security forces taking part in an Afghan-led operation in the eastern province of Laghman. (Photo: Rahmat Gul/AP)

May 1, 2012: Afghans protest the killing of two civilians during a joint Afghan-NATO raid early Tuesday. (Photo: Abdul Mueed/EPA)

A tribal elder, Momin Khan Mukhlis, condemned the operation and asked the NATO-led forces to stop conducting operations in their areas, because the security of the city had already transitioned to Afghan personnel.

Provincial police chief, Dawlat Khan Zadran, confirmed the protest and said they had not been informed in advance.

The ISAF media office said a member of the Haqqani network was captured with arms and ammunition during a joint operation by Afghan and the international troops.

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