Nuristan Tribal Elders Warn of Food Shortages After Month-Long Route Closures

Tribal elders in Nuristan province's Kamdesh and Barg Matal districts have warned of critical food and medicine shortages affecting around 100,000 residents across more than 100 villages, following a month-long closure of routes from the provincial capital Parun.

The elders and local residents attributed the closures to repeated shooting and attacks by Pakistani forces on vehicles using the routes. They reported no flour available in the districts, forcing residents to slaughter animals for meat amid skyrocketing prices. Clinics and pharmacies have run out of medicines, leaving severe patients at risk of death. Students from the districts are stranded in other provinces.

The elders said they appealed multiple times to the Taliban governor in Nuristan and ministers in Kabul, receiving only promises without practical action. Taliban helicopters delivered some equipment to forces and medicines, but elders described the aid as insufficient. They warned of seeking assistance from Pakistan if authorities fail to act and avert a humanitarian disaster.

Faridun Samim, spokesman for the Nuristan Taliban governor, confirmed Pakistani forces attacked vehicles, closing the routes, and said officials are seeking an alternative path via Ghaziabad district. He noted the route is snowy and could take two to three months to open, with officials lacking experience navigating it. Local sources reported daily shelling by Pakistani forces, including recent attacks that killed dozens of Taliban members.

Radio Hurriyat separately reported a landslide blocking the Kunar-Nuristan highway, with Taliban working on an alternative from Parun, differing from accounts blaming Pakistani attacks.