WEAPONS COLLECTION - UPDATE
- As of its inception (11 June 2005)
until 29 October 2005, 14,205 heavy and light weapons as well as 22,622
pieces of boxed and 38,873 pieces of unboxed ammunition have been handed
over to and verified by ANBP collection teams in Afghanistan.
- 4,857 of the collected weapons have been handed over by 124 candidates to the parliamentary elections.
- Over 1,700 heavy and light weapons have been collected and verified in the province of Baghlan, and over 1,400 respectively in Kunduz and Badakhshan provinces. Good results in Badakhshan should be attributed to the Provincial DIAG Committee in Badakhshan, which has demonstrated increased in involvement in settling commanders' disputes in the province.
PARWAN - CHIEF OF POLICE HANDING OVER WEAPONS
On October 26, Abdurrahman Siadkhel Mowlana, the chief of police of the province of Parwan, and also former commander of the 2nd Division, surrendered 119 weapons. The weapons, which included 6 heavy weapons, were immediately transferred to the cantonment site of Pol-e Charki where there are now under the surveillance of the Afghan National Army (ANA).
Abdul Rrahman Siadkhel Mowlana complied with an instruction from the Ministry of Interior sent through a letter from the Joint Secretariat of the Disarmament & Reintegration Commission. In this instruction, government officials known to illegally detain and use weapons are asked to voluntarily hand them hem over to the provincial weapons collection point.
In the speech he gave during the hand over ceremony, Abdul Rrahman Siadkhel Mowlana said that he was "responding to the Government's call to clean Afghanistan from weapons, disband illegal armed groups and bring stability and peace in the country".
The DIAG process was launched on 11June, 2005 when officially announced by Vice President Khalili.
Media Contact
Ariane Quentier - Joint Secretariat Communications
Advisor, 070 166 911
Email: aquentier@anbpafg.org / arianequentier@compuserve.com
Website www.undpanbp.org
Ezatullah Shamszai - Joint Secretariat
Public Information Officer, 070 602 504
Email: shamszai2005@hotmail.com
Ahmad Jan Nawzadi - Joint Secretariat
Public Information Officer, 070 22 74 17
Email: anawzadi@anbpafg.org / ahmad_jan40@hotmail.com