Residents of Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan Province, say they are fed up with the rise in thefts and fear for their lives and property. They add that over the past two weeks or so, several home burglaries have taken place, and a number of food shops in various alleys and neighborhoods of the city have also been targeted by thieves at night. Some residents of Old Faizabad also confirm that thieves enter people’s homes at night. According to them, in one such case, a man who intended to commit theft was detained by residents and handed over to the Taliban. Residents of Faizabad attribute the increase in theft to poverty and unemployment, and say that several young people turn to theft because they have no job opportunities and cannot meet their basic living needs.
Some residents of Faizabad say they are deeply worried about the rise in nighttime thefts and fear that if the situation continues, people will not have security for their lives and property even inside their own homes. According to them, thieves enter people’s courtyards at night without fear and take whatever they can get their hands on. They add that the increase in these incidents has badly frightened women and children in particular, and that families spend their nights in anxiety and fear.
One resident of Old Faizabad says: “A few nights ago, in one of the alleys above where we live, thieves entered a stall at night and took everything in it. Likewise, thieves entered people’s courtyards on two consecutive nights, and on the second night, one of them was detained by residents and handed over to the Taliban.” According to him, the thieves target stalls where the total value of the goods in each is only between five and ten thousand afghanis. He adds that these thefts take bread from the mouths of the poorest families, and that the continuation of this situation is alarming.
Another resident of Faizabad says: “Two nights ago, thieves also looted a shop belonging to residents in one of the passages of Old Faizabad. Likewise, about four or five nights ago, thieves entered one of the courtyards in this city, but fled the scene when the homeowner woke up.”
A number of shopkeepers in various parts of Faizabad also confirm that some of their goods have been stolen. They say that every night after closing their shops, they go home worried and remain anxious until morning that thieves might break into their shops at night and steal part of their goods.
At the same time, some women say that certain itinerant peddlers carry plastic gemstones, present them as diamonds, and claim to sell them cheaply or even in exchange for gold. According to the women, however, these individuals use such a trick to steal women’s gold.
These Faizabad residents say that out of fear of the Taliban, they cannot share more details of these incidents with the media. According to them, the Taliban not only pay no attention to the security situation and people’s problems, but also threaten those who report on these incidents, warning that publishing such reports is considered a conspiracy against the group.
Meanwhile, several Badakhshan residents say that poverty and unemployment have driven some people to theft out of desperation. According to them, the lack of job opportunities and ways to earn a living has forced a number of people to commit theft.
Ahmad (pseudonym), a resident of Faizabad, says: “All these problems stem from poverty. Unemployed young people cannot even afford to migrate to Iran and Pakistan, and are forced to steal whatever they can get their hands on. They know this could put them at risk of death or imprisonment, but since they see no other way ahead, they turn to it.”
This comes as Badakhshan is one of the provinces that, since the Taliban takeover, has faced illegal extraction and widespread smuggling of minerals, including gold, with Taliban officials and individuals affiliated with the group taking the largest share.
Dozens of Badakhshan workers, who had been employed in the province’s mines that were previously exploited by certain companies, have lost their jobs after the Taliban monopolized mining operations.
Earlier, Foreign Policy magazine reported that it had obtained a copy of an unpublished report by a London-based private threat analysis firm, which shows that the Taliban pay 25 percent of the revenue from gold mines in Badakhshan and Takhar provinces in northern Afghanistan to al-Qaeda.
According to the report, from the start of gold mining in Badakhshan and Takhar provinces in early 2022 until the report’s publication in 2024, al-Qaeda’s share of revenue from these mines reached 194.4 million dollars. The report states that the Taliban earn 25 million dollars per month from gold mines, and that this revenue is shared with al-Qaeda by the faction of Sirajuddin Haqqani in Kabul and Hibatullah Akhundzada in Kandahar.
Foreign Policy also wrote, citing the report, that al-Qaeda has hired tens of thousands of workers to extract gold in Afghanistan, and that Taliban fighters provide security for these workers. According to the outlet, the report also provides a list of al-Qaeda leaders, some of whom were senior officers of Osama bin Laden during his time in Afghanistan and the planning of the September 11 attacks.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
افزایش دزدیها در بدخشان؛ دزدان شبهنگام وارد حویلیهای مردم میشوند
