Local sources in Ghazni report that the Taliban have initiated the construction of four townships in the central areas and districts of Nawa, Qarabagh, and Waghaz in this province. According to sources, the construction of these townships began six months ago. The most substantial of these townships, currently undergoing rapid development, is situated in the Nawa district of the province, receiving direct financial support from the Haqqani network. Concurrently, a township is being constructed in the center of Ghazni province, involving the forceful seizure of portions of land for the project, including sections of the Teachers’ Township.
Sources in the Qarabagh district also claim that hundreds of acres of Hazara-owned lands in this district have been seized by the Taliban for the construction of a township. Additionally, another township is under construction in the Waghaz district for undisclosed purposes.
Credible sources in Ghazni, preferring to remain anonymous, confirm to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that hundreds of acres of the Hazara people’s properties in Qarabagh district have been forcibly taken by the Taliban. According to these sources, the Taliban recently seized hundreds of acres of land in Bagh-e-Attar Plain, related to the Golkooh area of Qarabagh district, to construct a township and have initiated construction activities.
According to sources, the local Hazaras have owned this land for years, and they possess documents supporting their ownership, but the Taliban have disregarded these documents. According to them, the forcible seizure of this land and the suspicious initiation of township construction have stirred public outcry, leading the Taliban to temporarily halt construction activities for a limited period. Sources emphasize that the Taliban, after a week’s pause, have once again expedited the construction of this township.
Ahmad (pseudonym), a resident of the Golkooh area in Qarabagh district, Ghazni province, tells the Hasht-e Subh Daily: “These lands have been the property of our people for years. We have documents. From Golkooh to this plain, an irrigation channel has been constructed, indicating that this land, which receives water from Golkooh, belongs to these people. Unfortunately, no one heard our voice, and it seems that for years, injustice has been done to us. Once again, the ancestral lands of our fathers are being taken, and history is repeating itself.”
Alongside the allegations of seizing the lands of the Hazara people in Qarabagh, the Taliban initiated the construction of a large township approximately six months ago in the village of Malikuddin, Nawa district of this province. The construction of several projects within a complex in this district is ongoing. According to findings by the Hasht-e Subh Daily, the construction of a residential religious school covering an area of 50 acres, with a cost of 45 million Afghanis, is underway. Information indicates that multiple mosque sections, two health centers, several water supply projects, and the construction of hundreds of residential houses are part of the plans for this township.
The Hasht-e Subh Daily’s findings reveal that this township is being executed by the Saad Foundation affiliated with the Haqqani network in the Nawa district of Ghazni province. Sources add that the completion of this township and its schools will incur a cost of 10 million US dollars.
This comes as, until a few days ago, the Taliban did not provide details on the reasons behind the construction of this township. Now, with the resettlement of 20 families returning from Pakistan, the group has announced that the township will be allocated to vulnerable families, especially those returning migrants from Pakistan.
Sources suggest that these Taliban statements appear suspicious, considering that the forced eviction of migrants from Pakistan began several weeks ago, while the construction work on this township has been underway for months.
On the other hand, over the past two months, the Taliban have relocated all construction companies dealing with bricks and other building materials to the Waghaz district of this province. The construction of hundreds of residential houses in this district is in full swing. The owner of a brick manufacturing company in Ghazni province confirms to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that currently, dozens of construction companies have transferred their machinery from the center of Ghazni to this district. Alongside this, hundreds of daily-wage workers are being relocated from the city to this district by the Taliban. According to him, the construction of a township in the Kabul Plain area of this district is actively underway.
The owner of the brick manufacturing company states, “We have a brick and mosaic company inside the city. It’s been almost two months since we moved all our equipment and workers to the district of Waghaz. It’s becoming a kind of township where whatever we produce daily is quickly sold. I don’t understand why they are so hurried to make it happen.”
Meanwhile, the Taliban have commenced the infrastructure development for another township in the Kotal-e Rawza area, near the gates of Ghazni city, on the border of Maidan Wardak province. Construction work on this township is also in full swing.
On the other hand, a source in the Directorate of Education under Taliban control in Ghazni confirms that construction work on another unspecified township has started in portions of the land belonging to the Teachers’ Township of this province. The plan for this township had previously been approved by the former government’s Ministry of Urban Development and Housing. The source states that local Taliban authorities in the Directorate of Education are aware of this matter but are not impeding the construction work.
Nevertheless, sources have claimed that migrants, primarily families of members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), will be relocated to these townships. They assert that the simultaneous mass expulsion of migrants from Pakistan and the prior readiness of the Taliban for their relocation appear suspicious. However, the Taliban have not provided details regarding these claims.
Earlier this year, sources claimed that the Taliban had taken control of several acres of land owned by the Hazara people in the upper section of the Faqirshah area, situated in the Sarab region of Jaghatu district in this province. This group has allegedly confiscated Hazara-owned lands in the area, building a residential township and allocating it to nomads (kuchis).
