Part Tenth
Written by: Ismail Yaqobi
The incompetent republican regime, thru its own inability, had effectively created an opportunity for warlords and self-proclaimed party leaders to plunder and loot customs and ports. Dostum was also able to use these weaknesses at that time to expand his influence over Hairatan port and take control of the customs revenues of the time.
The rampant dimensions of financial corruption in Hairatan can be found in a report by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), published around 2014-2015. Specifically, in an article titled “Dostum Denies Hoarding Customs Cash,” it quotes Mohammad Rahim, the then director of customs in Balkh, as saying, “Nothing happens in Hairatan without Dostum’s permission.” Interestingly, Dostum sent approximately 300 million Afghanis to Kabul as a “goodwill gesture” on only one occasion, but the remaining revenue disappeared.
At the table of looted income in Hairatan, Dostum was not alone; alongside him were Atta Muhammad Noor and Mohaqiq, two other notorious warlords who had a strong presence. The High Office of Anti-Corruption and Administrative Corruption claimed in 2012 that it had sent five administrative corruption cases to the High Office of Anti-Corruption and Administrative Corruption; thick files containing the names of Dostum, Mohaqiq, and Atta Mohammad Noor, which stated that the mentioned individuals were dividing customs revenues among their organizations.
Beside the squandering of customs revenue, extortion and bribery were two other methods used by Dostum mercenaries to line their pockets. Dostum’s forces were demanding huge bribes from merchants and truck drivers during this time. According to a 2018 report by the Anti-Corruption Department, systematic extortion in Hairatan caused millions of dollars in annual losses to the Afghan economy. It’s worth mentioning that in the same year, the temporary closure of the port by Dostum’s supporters, due to the imprisonment of Qaisari and Dostum’s return from exile, resulted in economic losses of over one million dollars per day.
Hairatan port, which could have been a pillar of Afghanistan’s national economy, became one of the darkest centers of financial corruption in the country’s history due to the influence and greed of Abdul Rashid Dostum and his co-religionists. From seizing customs revenues to extortion and bribery, Dostum not only undermined the foundations of the economy but also contributed to public distrust and the collapse of the republican regime’s political legitimacy.
Throughout this entire period, not only the republican regime but also the American occupiers did not stop them because of the interests they had in the corruption of notorious figures like Dostum; in some cases, they even sent them satellites in exchange for huge sums of money. According to reports from reputable media outlets, particularly an interview published in Rolling Stone magazine in 2023, there is a claim that the United States (as a representative of the West) paid Abdul Rashid Dostum, the former Marshal of Afghanistan and leader of the National Islamic Movement Party, 100$ thousands per month.
The fate of Hairatan port was a symbol of the collapse of a regime that, instead of serving the nation, had become a scene of competition and plunder among warlords. While the people suffered from poverty, unemployment, and insecurity, the lords of power in the north of the country built tall palaces and foreign bank accounts from the blood of the nation. Hayratan was not only a commercial port but also a mirror of the true face of a republic that had become mired in corruption and injustice.
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