JALALABAD - Human rights violations considerably increased in the astern zone last year, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) said on Saturday.
As many as 583 cases of violence against women and 130 other human rights violations were registered last year in the four eastern provinces Nangarhar, Nuristan, Laghman and Kunar.

Rafiullah Baidar, the AIHRC regional head, told Pajhwok Afghan News that 400 cases of violence against women had been reported in 2010.
Most of the incidents pertained to inadequate access to justice, land grab and protection of civilians, he said, adding that 200 of the 583 complaints of violence against women were yet to be addressed.

Baidar added 200 civilians had been killed and wounded in incidents, such as rebel attacks, aggression by Pakistani soldiers and land disputes, in the eastern zone.

In most of the cases, illegal armed groups threatened the people and grabbed their land, he explained. "The main reason is that local officials have no mechanism for issuing weapons licenses."

Due to the presence of illegal armed groups and the resultant insecurity, he complained, rights cmpaigners could not operate independently in Khogyani, Hesarak, Sherzad and Chaparhar districts of Nangarhar.

According to Baidar, the number of civilian casualties caused by Afghan and foreign soldiers in Nangarhar had reduced. However, he go no specific figures. (Pajhwok)