Several truck drivers who commute on the Kabul-Herat highway staged demonstrations in Kabul city on Thursday in order to call attention to the lack of security on the highway. The truckers claimed they would be on strike until the government took swift action to make the highway more safe to travel.
The strike represents the culmination of grievances expressed by both commuters and provincial officials in recent weeks regarding the deteriorating security situation facing stretches of the country's major highway system. The Kabul-Herat highway, particularly the area passing through Kandahar, has become the site of routine attacks by insurgents and Illegal Armed Groups (IAGs) against travelers, and most often oil tankers.
In addition to being targeted by Taliban insurgents, striking drivers in Kabul said IAGs abduct people on the Kabul-Herat highway for ransom with impunity.
"Everyday 40 people are kidnapped, but the Minister of Interior says that everything is well," said Hajji Ahmadullah, the head of Ahmad Shah Abdali Bus Transport Company. "Nothing is well on the highway."
The demonstrators recalled horror stories of abuses they and others had suffered at the hands of the groups terrorizing the highway.
"Armed men pull out the passengers, including women and children, and leave them stranded; It is horrifying to see how they treat women and children," said Muhammad Hashim, a truck driver on strike.
The strike was called because the drivers felt the government had failed to organize an adequate response to the problems of security on the highway, but also because local forces neglect of the issues faced by travelers on an everyday basis.
"I asked the police for help after the armed men stopped my car, but the police did nothing," said Ismail, another driver participating in the demonstration.
Many claimed that not only were the Afghan Police failing to address abuses on the highway, but in fact they often participated in the criminal activities themselves, like extorting money from travelers in need of help.
Meanwhile, the truckers' strike has not gone without creating its own victims. Many would be truck and bus passengers traveling between cities along the highway have been left stranded due to the drivers' inactivity.
"We are stuck here. I do not have any money to rent a hotel room," said one passenger named Rahim. "The drivers are on strike, but I needed to go to Farah province."
Calls for action to be taken by the Kabul government and foreign forces to address the highway's growing dangers long forsehadowed the current strike. Last month, a number of oil tanker drivers met with the Internal Security and Justice Committee of the Lower House to express their concerns over the increasing insecurity on the highway. According to reports at the time, over 570 oil tankers use the highway every day, and at least three targeted daily.
Just last week the Governors of Ghazni, Maidan Wardak, Zabul and Kandahar provinces held a meeting in Maidan Shahr, the capital city of Wardak province, to address the concerns of logistics and supply companies who have been subject to attacks on the highway.
Although the Afghan government has assured that something would be done about the highway attacks and security would be improved, nothing has yet stymied the steady rise of violence and criminal activity.
"If the government cannot restore security on the highway, then the President should step down and let the Taliban come to power," said Hayatollah, a frequent and disgruntled commuter on the highway.