As the Taliban continue to rule over the country, some Pashtun nomads, a tribe supported by the Taliban, have started confiscating the property of other tribes in the corners of the country. Following Takhar, Sar-e Pol, Baghlan, and other provinces, people in Badghis are now facing usurpation challenges. The most recent case reveals that the Pashtuns of Jawand district in Badghis have grabbed the lands belonging to Tajiks and divided them among themselves. Unfortunately, despite the complaints lodged by the landowners, the Taliban are unwilling to offer any help.
The residents of the Badghis say that the lands are situated the in the Ābpūdah locality, where people belonging to ‘Bārakzai’ tribes have seized these lands without holding any legal documents. “ We often heard on televisions and radios that people in Takhar and Sar-r Pol had lost their lands to Pashtun tribes, and we could not believe, but today, our properties are being usurped and divided among them,” said Fazluddin, a resident of the Ābpūdah district. He told the Hasht-e-Sobh team that the people of this tribe (Bārakzai) seized their lands, claiming they bought them. Fazluddin continues by saying that“ when we ask them about purchase dee, they replied, saying that they do not have it and we must not require it. Hence, they did not provide us with further information.”
Additionally, Gullagha, another resident, says that 150 acres of usurped agricultural lands are the property of ‘Jallayer’, one of the branches of Tajik tribes that inherited them centuries ago that, for years, has been their only source of earning. Now, after the Taliban came to power, the Pashtun tribes have turned these lands into their private properties.
Qiamuddin, another citizen of Ābpūdah, says these Pashtun tribes have forcefully seized their lands. “They were nomads. They came here years back and requested a place to inhabit here,” he said. He continued, saying that a few years back, they bought a small garden and a portion of land in Gaashk (a valley in Badghis) and have now usurped the agricultural lands of this district. “In the morning, they learned about the usurpation of their lands and grazing lawns. When they went and told them (nomads) that they did not have any property there and instead, the lands were inherited by them (landowners) from their elders decades back, the nomads forcefully said that their lands belonged to them. Hence, no one has a right to reject it,” added Qiamuddin as he clarified that the Taliban also support these (nomad) tribes.
By all means, Jallayer tribes, Tajik tribes, speaking Dari say that the Pashtun tribes have grabbed their lands while holding no legal document. Meanwhile, claiming that Taliban officials do not listen to non-Pashtun tribes, they insist that despite lodging many complaints, the Taliban official remind quiet.
Indeed, with the Taliban ruling government, the forceful displacement and absorption of property of non-Pahtun tribes have considerably increased. This is to say that earlier Pashtun nomads had grasped the infrastructure and luxurious apartments of Takhar native tribes and obliged owners to leave their houses. Later, a similar case happened in a few districts of Sar-e Pol city, where Wardak tribes snatched away the properties of other tribes, as a result of which the Taliban divided the land between the owner and Wardak tribes.
