Several drivers in Kabul city are complaining about the absence of designated and standardized stops for picking up passengers across the city. According to them, the Taliban have not designated specific stopping points along several routes, and when drivers stop by the roadside to pick up passengers, Taliban members use this as a pretext to seize their car keys and then demand money in return. These drivers add that difficult economic conditions on one hand, and Taliban restrictions on the other, have made life and work difficult and unbearable for them. Meanwhile, one Kabul resident says that the constant changing of stops has made people’s daily commute difficult. He says they are mostly forced to stop the car while it is moving and get in, because the Taliban do not allow cars to stand in one designated place.
Naqib, one of the drivers in Kabul city, complains about the lack of a stopping place for picking up passengers. He says the Taliban have not designated a specific stopping point at several stops, and when drivers stop by the roadside to pick up passengers, Taliban members use this as a pretext to seize their car keys and then demand money in return.
This driver says: “We have truly had enough. They have not designated a specific place for us to stop the car to pick up passengers. When we stand in a technically appropriate spot waiting for passengers, two or three Taliban members come, take the car key and documents, sit in the front seat of the car, and say that they are taking us to the town. When they reach a certain point along the road, if you give them some money, they return the key and the documents.” He believes the Taliban have deliberately not created standardized stops for cars to use this as a pretext to take money from drivers.
This driver adds: “There’s no work, and fuel is expensive. Before, when women were out and about during the day, there was work; but now it’s only men, and most of them use bicycles. Even more people, because of the poor economic conditions, prefer to walk long distances.”
Jawid (pseudonym), another driver, says that the Taliban initially took money from people under the pretext of painting cars and making them uniform for the city, but the paint they used was low quality, and even after a few months the cars’ color changed. He says the Taliban now fine drivers under the pretext of stops.
This driver says: “Now that unemployment has increased, more people have turned to driving even with their own private cars. The Taliban raised the issue of car paint and said that private cars are now not allowed to work. Alongside this, they take money from every car on a daily and monthly basis. Fuel is expensive, there is no business, and people do not have a good economic situation either. Daily income is not enough for us to pay all this money to the Taliban; so how are we supposed to provide for our families?” According to this driver, the Taliban even prevent people from breathing easily.
Jawid adds: “The Taliban pressure people step by step and make conditions harder day by day. How many passengers we can take, where we can take them from, and when we can take them, all of it is determined by the Taliban.”
Abed (pseudonym), another driver, says that difficult economic conditions on one hand, and Taliban restrictions on the other, have made life unbearable for him. He says: “When I go home, there is this problem and that problem; my peace of mind has been taken from me. When I go out for work, I face Taliban restrictions. This group does not let a person do anything. When I had a handcart, they would come every day and say Don’t stop here; stop there, pay a tax. Now that I drive someone else’s car, they take money under various pretexts. The car owner takes money monthly, there are household expenses, fuel is expensive, and conditions get harder for me every day.”
Meanwhile, Omid, one of the Kabul residents, says that when heading to work in the mornings, he waits for hours for a car. He says: “Every day the stop changes. We are mostly forced to stop the car while it is moving and get in, because the Taliban do not allow cars to stand in one designated place. Every day I arrive half an hour late for work, and some days even an hour late. Both the traffic jams and the lack of cars have combined to increase people’s difficulties.”
This Kabul resident adds: “A few days ago, when the car was full of passengers, and the driver started moving, Taliban members stopped the car and made all the passengers get out, saying that they were taking the car to the town. We did not even understand the reason.”
This comes as several drivers of city taxis in Kabul had recently complained about the increase in taxes and costs imposed on their vehicles. In an interview with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, they had said that in addition to renewing car documents, they are also forced to pay sums to various institutions every three months. According to them, these costs are being collected from drivers even as the amount of work and income has decreased compared to the past, and the price of fuel and the cost of vehicle repairs continue to rise.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
کلید موتر در برابر پول؛ رانندهگان کابل از اخاذی طالبان به بهانه ایستگاه شکایت دارند
