KABUL – First deputy speaker of Wolesi Jirga, Abdul Zahir Qadir, on Monday accused the National Security Council of supporting Daesh and putting the country on a path towards destruction.

He said the "national security advisor does not have executive authority to make decisions but has taken the whole system hostage".

According to him, he is convinced Daesh commanders are living in Kabul and often pay visits to embassies and government offices – including security agencies.

Qadir also stated he has proof about the interference of the National Security Council into Nangarhar affairs. However, he went on to say that now was not the right time to discuss this issue.

"What can we do? People within government and in the National Security Council support Daesh. If we do not stop Daesh today, tomorrow it will be a massive problem."

He also said local police were far better equipped than the national police in the province but that Daesh was so well equipped that all they lacked was tanks and helicopters.

Qadir urged government to provide local police with equipment especially uniforms as he said they run the risk of being mistaken for thugs as they are forced to wear civilian clothes.

However, without mincing his words, Qadir went on to say that thousands of undocumented Pakistani refugees had moved across the border and are living in Nangarhar. He said in addition, Chechen, Uzbek and Turkmen nationals are also in the province as are displaced Afghans from other areas including Badakhshan.

But on the subject of increased insecurity in the province, Qadir said the public is ready to take up arms to defend their province against insurgents.

He said Nangarhar residents recently warned refugees to leave the province but "someone from within government" told them not to go. He said this person promised to support these refugees.

Problems faced in Nangarhar could easily spill over into neighboring Kabul, said Qadir adding that the province is the gateway to the capital, while Kabul in turn is the gateway to the rest of the country.

Meanwhile, lashing out at security forces, he said government has said that troops recently killed 500 to 600 Daesh members in operations. He rejected these claims and said it was Nangarhar residents who eliminated these insurgents.

Meanwhile, Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi, Speaker of the House, stressed the need for Qadir's comments to be taken seriously.

"These comments raise many questions and they are worth following. The situation has gotten worse since (former president Hamid) Karzai's time."

According to President Ashraf Ghani's deputy spokesman Sayed Zafar Hashemi government is opposed to establishing militia groups.

"We are strongly opposed to building militia groups because in our experience this can play a major role in increasing insecurity, harassment of citizens and it weakens rule of law."

"In some provinces, including Nangarhar, we were asked to establish militia groups but this is not in favor of security," he said.

Meanwhile the spokesman for the national security advisor, Tawab Ghorzang, said the NSC has strongly rejected Qadir's statement and said his claims are baseless. He said it was an excuse for Qadir to get illegal resources to build militia groups for his personal gains.

"In order to clear up the misunderstanding among the citizens the president's office is requested to assign a team to investigate the recent irresponsible statements of Mr Qadir and his efforts to build personal militia groups."  (Tolonews)