Residents of five villages in Ghazni province say the Taliban are seizing the lands of the Faizawi Zargar Qanat from residents under the pretext of establishing an industrial park. They add that the disputed area covers about 2.27 square kilometers, and residents of the villages of Asfandeh, Zargar, Jabbar, Gudul Ra’yat, and Karmian consider themselves the owners of these lands. According to them, title deeds and Sharia-based and legal documents relating to these lands are in the residents’ possession, and the names of a number of owners are also registered in the cadastre. Residents say Taliban officials have moved to survey these lands under the pretext of creating an industrial park, but the move has met with opposition from residents.
Residents of these areas say that following their opposition to the move, Taliban fighters detained 18 elders and representatives of the five villages on September 16 and transferred them to prison. According to them, the detainees include several representatives and influential local figures who had held talks with Taliban officials to pursue the residents’ property rights. Residents are calling for a review of the ownership documents and a peaceful resolution of the dispute over the lands.
Residents of these villages say the Taliban have been trying for some time to seize their lands under the pretext of establishing an industrial park. They add that residents hold Sharia-based and legal ownership documents for these lands, but the Taliban have surveyed the area for an industrial park without regard for these documents.
Residents of the villages of Asfandeh, Zargar, Jabbar, Gudul Ra’yat, and Karmian say they have repeatedly approached Taliban officials to resolve the dispute over these lands, but their requests have not been addressed so far.
One resident says: “A Taliban delegation went to the area to survey the lands of the Faizawi Zargar Qanat in the center of Ghazni province, without considering the people’s legal and Sharia-based documents, but it faced resistance from the residents. Following this resistance, armed Taliban forces detained and imprisoned 18 community leaders. These individuals are from the five villages of Asfandeh, Zargar, Jabbar, Gudul Ra’yat, and Karmian, and they hold legal and Sharia-based documents showing that these lands have been in their possession for many years. Nevertheless, a group known as the ‘land mafia,’ in cooperation with several Taliban officials, is trying to seize these lands from the people by force and contrary to the existing documents.
Another resident says that after the Taliban’s move to take over their lands, the people of the area protested against the action. He adds that in response to the protest, Taliban forces detained 18 residents and transferred them to prison.
This resident of Ghazni province says: “The residents of the villages concerned are prepared to make sacrifices to defend their lands and will not give up defending their legal and Sharia-based right. The seizure of land by land mafia circles in cooperation with some Taliban officials has caused problems for a large number of people in different areas of Afghanistan.”
He adds: “The action of some Taliban officials in cooperation with a land mafia group has worried the local people and caused them to lose trust. Residents of these villages are asking senior Taliban officials to hear their voices, review their ownership documents, and address this dispute so that clashes between the people and Taliban forces can be prevented.”
Another resident says the detention of 18 elders and representatives of the five villages has further escalated tensions over the lands of the Faizawi Zargar Qanat. He adds that residents do not want the dispute over land ownership to lead to clashes between the people and Taliban forces. According to him, addressing this dispute through the existing documents and the relevant authorities can prevent the continuation of tensions. He is calling on Taliban officials to address the people’s demands before taking any new action in this area.
This man says: “We ask Taliban officials to review the people’s documents before making any decision about these lands. If our ownership documents are not valid, the reason must be explained to the people, but the people’s lands must not be seized without reviewing the documents. The people of these villages do not want conflict and want this issue to be resolved through legal means. We ask Taliban officials not to take any action to seize or transfer the land until its ownership is clarified.”
After regaining control of Afghanistan, the Taliban began a process of identifying and consolidating lands that they call “usurped” across the country. After taking control of Kabul, the group established the “Commission for the Prevention of Land Grabbing and Recovery of Usurped Lands” and set up local delegations in the provinces and special courts in four regions of the country to review land cases.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not published the total figures for the agricultural land, residential land, and townships that the group has seized across Afghanistan so far. However, in its latest announcement, the MoJ said that in the past four years, it has registered the lands of 49 townships in 14 provinces, wholly or partially, in the group’s name.
According to information from the MoJ, these townships are located in the provinces of Kabul, Balkh, Nangarhar, Ghazni, Maidan Wardak, Kandahar, Helmand, Jawzjan, Samangan, Zabul, Faryab, Baghlan, Parwan, and Kunduz. The MoJ says the review and consolidation of the lands are carried out based on existing documents and the decisions of the group’s courts.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
مناقشه طالبان و مردم بر سر زمین در غزنی؛ ۱۸ تن از بزرگان محل بازداشت شدند
