The First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum – who has spent the past few weeks in Faryab, and more recently in Sar-e-Pul province – said on Monday that plots against Afghanistan in Sar-e-Pul by Pakistan’s Inter-Services intelligence (ISI) have been foiled after the Taliban were defeated in Kohistanat district.

This comes after the military operation that Dostum was leading managed to stamp out insurgents in the area and restore law-and-order.

He termed the retaking of Kohistanat as a big victory and congratulated the people for it.

Dostum called on Kohistanat residents to unite, and work hard at maintaining security in the district. He also appealed to the locals to prevent the Taliban from making a comeback in the area.

“All nefarious ends of ISI will be foiled slowly. The people of Afghanistan will not let the Taliban adopt their plans here,” Dostum said. “I congratulate this victory on all Sar-e-Pul residents including the youth, elders, religious scholars, women and those who go to school.”

A number of tribal elders in Sar-e-Pul praised Dostum’s efforts to stabilize the province.

“Your move and your victory in Faryab and as well as in Kohistanat district of Sar-e-Pul is worth appreciation. People were encouraged and their morale was uplifted after you [Dostum] entered the province,” a tribal elder Sayed Ahmad told TOLOnews.

Dostum said a few weeks back that he had donned his military uniform and joined troops in the north in a bid to eliminate insurgents, motivate security forces and ensure security.

Meanwhile, the locals said they want more security bases in the district in order to prevent insurgents from returning.

“Vulnerable areas should be supported. The areas lack security forces. The local forces are not enough; other troops should be added in the area besides the local forces,” head of Sar-e-Pul provincial council Noor Mohamamd Rahmani told TOLOnews.

The mountainous areas in the province can serve as a safe haven for the insurgents therefore the security forces were asked by Dostum to adopt serious measures to prevent the infiltration of the Taliban into these areas; otherwise the locals said they will once again witness insecurity in the district.

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