On Saturday, Ahmadullah Alizai, Governor of Badghis province, expressed his concerns with the sudden surge in insurgent activity in the Bala Murghab district of his province endangering local residents.

According to reports, a majority of the insurgents are Pakistani radicals or Uzbek's from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The insurgents have reportedly extorted local residents of Bala Murghab and forced young boys to join their ranks or face death.

Mr. Alizai urged the district governor to address the problem immediately by deploying more security forces in the area to seek out the insurgents.

Mr. Alizai also asked local residents to stay alert and assist the security forces in whatever capacity they can.

However, not everyone is as worried as Mr. Alizai about the security situation in Bala Murghab. Taj Mohammad Jahid, Commander of the Zafar Military Corp, in response to Mr. Alizai's comments said insurgents' activities in the area have been successfully curtailed in recent months.

"The security situation has dramatically improved in the district after the handing over of security responsibilities to Afghan forces," Mr. Jahid attested.

Mr. Jahid said that the security forces had already captured several militants who were planning to launch attacks in the province.