Afghanistan Has New Weapon Against Terrorism

Posted: Apr 28 2012

Read More: afghanistan, house numbers, KABUL, street names, Terrorism

KABUL – The Afghani security department has a new weapon to fight terrorism. For the first time in the nation’s existence, places now have house numbers and street names.

Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, is the first location in the country to have officially assigned house numbers and street names.

Up until this change, Kabul was a dusty city that is build much like a labyrinth, even a basic drawing of the city’s layout doesn’t exist. To get anywhere in the city, most depend on their memory and directions from others.

“From a safety point of view, it’s disastrous not having street names and house numbers. There is no way to know where someone is from,” said Kabul’s chief of police.

City of Kabul was a labyrinth of roads and buildings until house numbers and street names were assigned. Photo Credit: Photo News

The chief said he has often asked to at least have a map made of Kabul which has a million residents, but “that’s a major project requiring lots of money”.

A task force of about 14,000 police officers are in charge of protecting the city, but they barely manage to do that, mostly because of the extreme confusion of locations and directions.

House numbers and street names has finally been assigned after the Taliban conducted several attacks inside the city of Kabul recently.

“We are finally able to tell exactly where someone lives. That’s a major improvement that will enhance the safety of the city dramatically,” said the chief of police.