Mehrabuddin Safi, the Governor of Kapisa province, said that Taliban militants and terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, the Haqqani Network and the violent arm of Hezb-e-Islami maintain effective control over a large swaths of the province.
Mr. Safi said specifically that while the government has managed to gain control over some parts of the Tagab and Alasai districts, the insurgent and terrorist outfits there are largely unimpeded, and able to easily launch attacks and persecute residents.
"The government has control over some parts of the Tagab and Alasai districts, but the rest are controlled by the insurgents and Haqqani Network," Mr. Safi told TOLOnews.
"These groups terrorize the locals and extort money from them," he said. Reportedly, the groups demand money from residents under the pretense of "zakat," or charity.
The security threats caused by the violent Islamic groups have already brought trouble for the voter registration process. According to Mr. Safi, the government has not been able to open registration centres in numerous districts throughout the province.
"Voters' registration centers have been opened only in some parts of Tagab district due to security challenges, and there are no voter registration centers in several parts of the two districts," Mr. Safi said. "However, we are trying our best to secure the areas and open more registration centres before the Presidential elections."
Meanwhile, officials from Kapisa's Provincial Peace Committee (PPC), emphasized that the untrammeled presence of the militants in key areas of Kapisa were hampering progress in the local peace negotiation process.
"The activities of Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Haqqani and Hezb-e-Islami in the area are preventing people from joining the peace process by threatening them. It is important that the government takes immediate steps and clear the militants from the area," said Abdul Momin, the Chairman of the PPC.
According to Mr. Momin, the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI, was providing support to the militant groups in Kapisa. He claimed Pakistani military hospitals were offering medical assistance to the wounded insurgents.
Suspicions of foreign support for militant groups in Afghanistan, particularly of Pakistan, are common amongst government and security officials throughout the country.
Earlier this week, at meeting of Northeastern region Governors in Mahumud Raqi, the capital of Kapisa, Defense Minister General Bismillah Khan Muhammadi claimed that neighboring governments were trying to destabilize Afghanistan ahead of the elections on April 5, 2014.
However, the issue of Illegal Armed Groups (IAGs) and the increasing problems they are causing throughout the country was another topic of conversation at the meeting of Governors. According to Kapisa officials, IAGs pose yet another major concern for peace and stability in the province.
Mr. Safi told TOLOnews that a major clearing operation would soon be launched by the security forces in the most troubled areas of the province.
Afghan forces have recently launched a series of successful clearing operations in provinces across the country. Just last week, an ANSF operation in northern Baghlan province resulted in the deaths of 17 insurgents, wounding of five and capture of nine others.
The security transition process from NATO forces to Afghan ones started two years ago, and so far 90 percent of security responsibilities have been reportedly handed over to the Afghan forces. NATO officials have repeatedly voiced their confidence in the improving capabilities of the ANSF and have assured Afghans and people back in their own countries that the ANSF will be prepared to assume complete security oversight once the NATO combat mission ends in 2014.