KUNDUZ, Afghanistan — A traffic accident in Baghlan Province on Sunday claimed the life of one person and left six others injured, the Taliban authorities said, marking the latest in a series of deadly incidents on the country’s roads.
The crash occurred in the Takhta-Sangi Valley of Khwaja District in the northern province of Baghlan, reportedly caused by a mechanical failure in a Toyota vehicle, according to the Taliban’s police command in the province.
The injured were transported to a local health clinic, with some reported to be in critical condition, the Taliban added in a statement.
Sunday proved to be particularly deadly on Afghanistan’s roads. Separate accidents in Laghman and Faryab provinces in the north and eastern parts of the country resulted in six additional fatalities and 24 injuries.
In Laghman Province, a collision involving a minivan and two rickshaws in the second police district of Mehtarlam, the provincial capital, left five people dead and 17 others injured, according to officials.
Meanwhile, in Faryab Province, a head-on crash between two passenger vehicles on the Dawlatabad Highway killed one person and injured seven others.
Escalating road dangers
Afghanistan has seen a notable rise in traffic accidents in recent weeks, particularly on its highways. Just last week, more than 50 people were killed in a crash on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, underscoring the deadly conditions that plague the nation’s roads.
While the Taliban-run traffic department has attributed many of these accidents to driver negligence, residents and activists have repeatedly voiced concerns over the lack of proper road infrastructure and maintenance.
As traffic-related fatalities continue to mount, calls for improved safety measures and better oversight are growing, even as the country’s economic and political challenges make such reforms difficult to achieve.
