Ismail Khan; The Amir of the West or the Amir of Corruption?
In the twenty years of the republic, many of those who called themselves leaders of jihad and resistance against foreigners not only distanced themselves from the ideals of jihad but also became key players in structural corruption and the plundering of national resources.
Yes! Those who once came to the field with the slogan of defending Islam and the independence of Afghanistan, during the republic era, displayed another face of themselves; a face tainted with greed, ambition, and ruthlessness towards the suffering people of this land.
Afghanistan had become a battleground for looters in these years; power was not a tool for service but a means for greater domination, wealth accumulation, and plundering public assets.
Many provinces, especially border and trade provinces, had practically turned into personal territories of self-proclaimed leaders and notorious warlords, where no law other than their will prevailed.
Among these figures, Ismail Khan in the west of the country was one of those who used his jihadist position to build a political, financial, and military empire.
Herat, Islam Qala, Torghundi, and even the customs and natural resources of the west were all within his sphere of influence, and this gradually led to his name being associated with financial corruption, land grabbing, and embezzlement in the public memory.
The swamp of corruption, theft, and plunder might be the only reasons that has gathered all the self-proclaimed leaders and flag bearers of devastating internal wars together, where they have collectively looted the country, traded away its independence, and trampled on the blood of thousands of martyrs; an unfortunate gathering that witnessed the unification of the darkest figures in contemporary Afghan history, including Ismail Khan.
Since during the rule of Ismail Khan over Herat, Islam Qala and Torghundi, two important and vital passages of the country, were under his shadow, it is not surprising if Ismail Khan’s name is at the top of the list of those involved in corruption and theft; a self-proclaimed leader who, by abusing his power and position, took everything he could from the nation’s table.
In those days, Islam Qala and Torghundi had become his personal source of income and that of his employees. Billions of Afghanis from the revenues of these crossings went into his and his affiliates’ pockets without transparency or oversight; customs offices that had practically turned into his private shop, and no one dared to ask questions.
While he bore the titles of Mujahid and Amir, his plundering of the public treasury had even astonished the occupiers. Ismail Khan used these ports to secure personal financial resources and strengthen his power, while the people of Herat and Afghanistan received no share of these national wealth.
During the Republic era, although financial and administrative corruption had reached its peak and it was rare to find someone whose hands were clean of this pollution, sometimes some government figures, whether due to personal enmities or to eliminate political rivals, would unveil the behind-the-scenes secrets of their opponents and read their corruption records in front of the people of Afghanistan.
Seizing government lands, embezzling millions of dollars from the National Bank, misusing customs revenues, and making suspicious investments were among the most important accusations that Azizullah Lodin, the then head of the High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption, attributed to Ismail Khan in 2012; accusations that we will delve deeper into in the next installment of this series, Allah willing.
To be continued…
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