by Abdulhaq Omeri
Taliban insurgents have seized the strategic town of Janikhail in Paktia province from the Afghan government, a number of civil society activists in Paktia said Friday.
Activists in the militancy-riddled district have said that the government did nothing for the district over the past fifteen years and did not even build a district chief's headquarters - an issue activists believe emboldened the Taliban to make their advance on the area.
Amid speculations over the lack of government presence in Janikhail, Afghan government sources have promised to launch a broad-based investigation into the fall of the district to militants.
The activists have said that similar issues exist in other districts in the province including Zurmat, Laja Manga, Ahmad Khail, Showak, Garda Seri, Wazai Zadran and Mirzaka and that there are no district buildings in the mentioned districts.
The activists blasted government over what they called negligence to retake the district from the Taliban.
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