Extremists attempt to delay Afghan road progress

  • Published
  • By Capt. Joe Campbell
  • Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team
PANJSHIR PROVINCE , Afghanistan --  Extremists hijacked the driver of a tractor trailer here July 10 destroying $200,000 worth of heavy construction equipment earmarked for reconstruction projects throughout the Panjshir Valley.

The driver was forced by several Taliban members to divert the truckload of equipment off the Herat-Kandahar Road into the desert near the city of Chakau. The driver said Taliban members then fired multiple rockets at the equipment, destroying both machines. The driver escaped unharmed.

The equipment was primarily for the provincial government to build and maintain small roads and paths to link villages to the main roads being constructed. The Taliban destroyed equipment that would have let Afghans build and maintain their own infrastructure.

"I was in the Abdara Valley and saw villagers crushing rock with a pick and hauling it by wheel barrel to build a road; their lives would be a lot easier with that bulldozer," said Air Force Lt. Col. Neal Kringel, Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team commander.

The U.S. Agency for International Development is funding 47 kilometers of road extending from the center of the province south to connect the valley to Charikar and Kabul. This segment of the road will cost $16 million and construction began in June 2005. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of December.

Panjshir Governor Haji Bahlol said the new roads tie in closely to his goals for an improved outlook for Panjshir residents. Education and agriculture are his top two priorities, respectively, and the much improved road will help make each possible.

"Education and agriculture are keys to helping people improve their livelihood," said Governor Bahlol.