Residents of the sixth district of Faizabad city, the center of Badakhshan, are complaining about the halt of a road construction project in the area. They say that more than a hundred houses and shops were demolished to build the road, but the project’s work stopped halfway through, and parts of the road remain unfinished. These residents say that the Taliban have built only a small section of the road, while other sections remain unpaved and in ruins.
Khairuddin (pseudonym), one of the residents of the Dasht-e Shuhada area, says the Taliban demolished more than half of his house for the construction of this road. He adds: “In my entire life, I managed to build one house, and it was destroyed for the sake of this road, but the road was never built either. We lost the road, and we lost our home.”
Mohammadyar (pseudonym), another resident of Dasht-e Shuhada, says construction of the road proceeded slowly, and during the project’s execution, dust created problems for families living around the road.
This man adds that the homes of a number of families were demolished for the construction of this road, but now the project’s work has stopped halfway, and residents’ requests for its completion have not received a clear response. According to this resident, the Taliban did not pay compensation to residents in exchange for demolishing their homes and shops.
Mohammadyar says: “I had built a few shops in front of my house and used to earn a monthly income from renting them out to get by, but now the shops have been demolished and half of my house as well. We were hopeful the Taliban would pay compensation, but no one helped us with this.”
One resident of the area says the funding for this road’s construction was supposed to be provided by a number of traders and private mining companies. According to him, several companies and traders had taken responsibility for covering the project’s costs, but during the course of the work they refused to continue funding it, leaving the project unfinished.
This resident of Faizabad says: “We were happy that we would finally be free of the dust and that the road would be built, but now the destruction is worse than before. The mine owners have also said they will no longer provide money to complete this road.”
On January 18, 2026, the Taliban announced the launch of this project, valued at 20 million Afghanis, in a biweekly publication of the Badakhshan Directorate of Information and Culture. According to this report, the project’s funding was to be provided by Shafiqullah Hafeezi, the former head of the Taliban’s Directorate of Mines and Petroleum, Prosecutor Habibshah, Abdul Hadi Sarraf, Haji Fawad, and Arbab Naeem.
According to local sources, only two of the project’s funders have paid the amount they had promised, while the remaining funders are not willing to pay their share of the project’s costs.
Abdul Sattar (pseudonym), one of the local elders, says that he and a number of community representatives have approached the relevant departments to have this project completed, but their request has gone unheeded.
This man says: “We went from department to department to get this road completed, but no one is willing to speak with us or address our request. This project was launched at the initiative of Shafiqullah Hafeezi, but it was left unfinished after he was transferred out of the Directorate of Mines and Petroleum.”
According to Abdul Sattar, when they asked Shafiqullah Hafeezi, the former head of the Directorate of Mines and Petroleum and the current head of Badakhshan’s Directorate of Agriculture and Livestock, to help complete the project, he responded: “If I had not been removed from my previous position, I would have completed the project myself, but now I cannot do so.”
Several months after the launch of this project, sections of the road remain unfinished, and the demolished homes and shops have not been rebuilt. Residents say that until the road is completed, problems with transportation and dust will continue.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
باشندهگان ناحیه فیضآباد: از وعدههای جادهسازی تنها خاک و ویرانی نصیب ما شده است
