In the past two years, the Taliban have established hundreds of bases in Panjshir province. This group has employed over 500 workers for the construction of their security bases. Local sources now report that the wages of these workers have not been paid by the Taliban-affiliated contractor. Sources have stated that the contractor has close ties to the Taliban and has deprived these workers of their rights for over a year.
In pursuit of intensifying attacks on the positions of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), the Taliban have created numerous security bases in Panjshir province. Local sources now reveal that the Taliban’s contracting company in this province has failed to pay the wages of 500 workers. According to sources, the contractor, who had undertaken the construction of the Taliban bases, has informed the workers that he has incurred losses and has no funds for payment.
Many workers in this Taliban project, who are currently facing economic hardship, are demanding payment of their wages. According to them, each worker has worked on the construction of Taliban bases in Panjshir for a period ranging from one to three months. The workers have stated that they have lodged their complaints with the Taliban governor of the province of Panjshir, but he has not paid attention to their requests.
About a year ago, the Taliban built at least 700 military bases in different areas of Panjshir. According to reports from the Hasht-e Subh Daily, each of these bases cost over 300,000 Afghanis. Some of the contracts for building these fortifications were assigned to residents, while others went to individuals with close ties to the group, including Mohammad Manaf.
Sources in Panjshir report that nearly one year after the construction of 700 Taliban bases, approximately 500 workers have not received their wages. According to sources, Mohammad Manaf received the funds for building these bases from the Taliban but has yet to pay the salaries of those who worked on this project. Sources have stated that the contractor told the workers that he incurred losses and didn’t have the money for payment.
Abdullah (pseudonym), a resident of Shotul District in Panjshir Province, shared with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, “Around three months ago, I transported stones and cement up the mountain for a Taliban base’s construction, but I have not received payment for my labor from Mohammad Manaf. I have no idea of his whereabouts, and he does not respond to my calls.”
This resident of Panjshir Province adds, “Mohammad Manaf is from the residents of Helmand province and is close to the Taliban. He told some of us that he suffered losses and didn’t have the money to pay. We are baffled about how to retrieve our earnings from this individual.” According to sources, Mohammad Manaf owes around 300,000 Afghanis in workers’ wages.
Nevertheless, certain individuals who have received subcontracts from Mohammad Manaf are voicing their grievances regarding unpaid expenses. An anonymous source among them states, “My brother obtained a contract to construct a section of a Taliban base from Mohammad Manaf. He liquidated all his assets, financed the transportation of stones and water, and still awaited the outstanding 80,000 Afghanis owed to him. However, Mohammad Manaf has not fulfilled this payment, and now the subcontracted workers are pursuing my brother for their dues.”
Workers who have not received their salaries claim that they have lodged their complaints with the Taliban governor of Panjshir, but he has also paid no attention. One of these individuals, who wishes to remain anonymous in this report, alleges that the contractor for this project is indebted not only to the workers but also to shopkeepers in Panjshir. According to them, Mohammad Manaf has left Panjshir, and everyone is waiting for their salaries to be paid by the Taliban.
A local source reports, “The contractor is a Taliban member and employs coercion. When those who have worked for this company seek assistance from anyone, no one lends a hand. This individual owes sums ranging from a thousand to 50,000 Afghanis or even more to these workers.” According to the source, “Even those who transported sand and stones up the mountainside have not been compensated, and he is also in debt to local shopkeepers.”
This information emerges as sources reveal that the Taliban have completed construction on just 31 bases in Abshar District, with a total value of 10 million Afghanis. Last year, the Taliban had outsourced the construction of each base to residents for 305,000 Afghanis. During that period, sources alleged that Mohammad Ali Haqshinas, the former Taliban governor of Abshar District in Panjshir Province, had taken 10,000 Afghanis from each base for himself, contrary to the group’s procurement office decision, and assigned the remaining 295,000 Afghanis to project officials.
These sources have accused the Taliban governor of Abshar District of financial corruption, claiming that this Taliban member has embezzled a total of 310,000 Afghanis.
Meanwhile, the Taliban have confirmed the construction of 300 bases to the media, but local sources say that nearly a thousand new bases have been established in Panjshir by the Taliban since last year. This group has continued to convert dozens of schools and residential houses into military strongholds.
Over the past two years, the Taliban have consistently promised to withdraw their fighters from schools and villages in Panjshir province, but they have not taken any practical steps to do so. Residents of Panjshir have repeatedly stated that the establishment of new bases and the extensive presence of Taliban fighters in this province have posed daily challenges to their lives for the past two years. According to them, a sense of suffocation and fear persists in various parts of Panjshir, and people do not feel secure under the Taliban’s rule.
