KABUL, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The restrictions imposed by Taliban militants in villages outside government control have faced backlash as the villagers in Andar district of Ghazni province have made uprising to oust the armed outfit.
The revolt has spearheaded to outreaching areas in east Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan, local media reports said.
"The residents of Andar district have fed up with the restrictions imposed by Taliban. The Taliban had shut down the schools and bazaars and motivated the people to fight against government. To get rid of Taliban clutch we have decided to stand against them," an anti-Taliban fighter, Wali Mohammad, was quoted as saying by local newspaper 8Subh.
Citing Wali Mohammad, the uprising began with six people some two months ago has grown to more than 500 people resisting Taliban onslaught in Andar and adjoining areas.
Similar uprisings also began in the eastern Paktia and Nuristan provinces.
According to Habib Khan Mangal, a tribal elder in Paktia province, locals in Mirzaka district have revolved against Taliban militants who raided the district over the weekend but security forces with the support of locals foiled the plan and forced Taliban fighters to flee.
In Nuristan, following the Taliban decision to close down the doors of school in Waigal district, all the teachers and students had opposed the decision, said Mawlawi Ahmadullah Moahid, a parliamentarian from the province.
Quoting Moahid, local daily Mandegar reported that security forces were not present in Waigal district and the locals on their own defeated Taliban there.
Locals said the Taliban militants who banned schools for girls and confined women in houses during their six-year rule, which collapsed under U.S.-led military campaign in late 2001, are still against girl education.
The uprising reportedly backed by government, first began from the most restive Andar district in Ghazni province some two months ago when local authorities banned motorbike riding there and the Taliban fighters in reaction decided to close down schools, a decision opposed by locals.
The leader of the uprising in Andar is Lutfullah Kamran, a clean-shaved man and engineer by profession, who has been lashing at Taliban harsh policies imposed on villagers. Kamran said it is the internet era, but people in Andar are deprived of education which is a big discrimination.
Kamram, reportedly a dissident Taliban fighter fed up with the outfit's harsh policies, has said that the restriction imposed by Taliban had led to the closure of schools, clinics, bazaars and eventually led to joblessness and extreme poverty in Andar district.
Taliban as an organized armed outfit fighting Afghan and NATO- led troops to oust the government in Kabul has been using all possible tactics including roadside and suicide bombings.
Due to Taliban restriction on school and education, only eight students got admission to universities last year from Andar district with a population of 240,000, which is discrimination against education, said former lawmaker Abdul Jabbar Shulgarai.
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