Following the Taliban’s coercion of Hazara people to pay reparations to the Kuchis (nomads), residents of three villages in Nawur District, Ghazni Province, are now compelled to pay five million Afghanis each. This decision was made based on the claims of a Kuchi individual who alleges that ten years ago, 230 of his sheep went missing in the border areas of Nawur and Jaghatu districts, and the residents of these three villages were involved in the incident. Subsequently, the Taliban arrested and tortured 17 individuals from these villages. Sources report that the Taliban have been holding these individuals in humid places, subjecting them to daily beatings. Now, the residents are forced by the Taliban to pay five million Afghanis to the Kuchi individuals to resolve this issue. It is worth noting that Hazara communities have previously been coerced into paying substantial reparations to Kuchis through various means of intimidation.
The Taliban in Ghazni province have compelled the residents of three villages in Nawur District to pay five million Afghanis to a Kuchi individual. Sources in the province have confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that, based on the claim of a Kuchi individual, the Taliban detained and tortured 17 residents of the Sabz Nalla, Wagh, and Jushan villages 40 days ago. The Kuchi individual alleges that nearly a decade ago, 230 of his sheep went missing in the border area between Nawur and Jaghatu districts of the province, and the residents of these three villages were involved in the incident.
According to accounts from Nawur residents, on July 19, 2023, the Taliban launched an attack on the Sabz Nalla, Wagh, and Jushan villages, detaining this group of individuals, including several elderly members. Furthermore, the Taliban subjected several residents of this district, including women and children, to severe beatings. It is reported that the Taliban have subjected these detainees to extensive torture during their captivity. Additionally, they provide minimal food and keep them in a tough humid location.
An anonymous source in this district shared with the Hasht-e Subh Daily saying, “After 40 days of detention and severe torture, 16 of the detainees were released from captivity, and one individual remains hospitalized due to excessive beatings. They tortured them in detention to such an extent that we had to agree to pay whatever amount they demanded.”
Another district resident recounted the detention and subsequent confinement of these individuals in Taliban prisons. The person stated, “They subjected 17 people to horrific prison conditions. They were not allowed to meet with their families. They endured multiple beatings daily. The place where they were kept was kept humid by the Taliban militants. Their living conditions were deplorable. One person has broken limbs and is hospitalized. In this situation, anyone placed here is forced to admit to crimes they didn’t commit to escape the torture.”
According to local sources, the Taliban have given the residents of these villages a ten-day deadline to deliver the sum of five million Afghanis to the Kuchi individual. Additionally, the Taliban have warned the people not to leak this matter to the media.
It is worth noting that, before this incident, with the support of the Taliban in most central regions of Afghanistan, Kuchis had allegedly received substantial reparations from the residents of these areas based on similar claims.
Over the past two years, Kuchis, with the support of the Taliban in Nawur District, have collected substantial reparations from the residents of this district on at least four occasions, despite the absence of any documents or evidence supporting their claims in these alleged cases. Nevertheless, the Taliban have coerced people through force and violence into making payments. In one instance, based on the Kuchis’ claim of the killing of a Kuchi woman, the residents of the Bahaie area paid a compensation of 10 million Afghanis. Furthermore, based on another claim, the residents of Bukhara and Hukak each paid two million Afghanis in reparations to the Kuchis.
This comes in the wake of a similar case last week, where the Taliban collected 1,750,000 Afghanis from the residents of the Sarchashma area in the Jalrez district of Maidan Wardak province and handed it over to the Kuchis. In a ruling published on social media by the Commission of Dispute Resolution of Kuchis and Locals, the Taliban described this payment as a form of brotherhood and reconciliation.
