Part Twelve
Written by: Ismail Yaqobi
One of the most heinous acts of all Afghan warlords, and even local strongmen, during the collapsed republic, was the seizure of government lands and even people’s private property; lands that were not acquired thru religious right, but thru force and influence within the corrupt government apparatus, placing them under the control of these notorious individuals.
Undoubtedly, Abdul Rashid Dostum has not fallen behind the caravan of usurpers, but rather, with a shameful record, he is at the forefront of this line. In this section of the series “The Face Behind the Mask; A Review of Abdul Rashid Dostum’s Shameful life,” we will take a look at the statistics and figures of the lands and properties that were seized by Dostum and his inner circle.
Dostum, who was a key figure in the devastating civil wars, also played a prominent role in the seizure of public and private lands. As one of the most heinous aspects of his activities, the displacement of thousands of families and the exacerbation of ethnic tensions in the north of the country can be cited.
Mercenaries and forces loyal to Dostum often seized agricultural, residential, and government lands with the aim of strengthening their ethnic base, converting them into residential settlements or military bases; these seizures were part of what is called the “warlord economy” and accounted for over a million acres of land that the Afghan Ministry of Justice reported had been seized during the republic in 2022.
One of the initial and widespread cases was the land grabbing in the Sherpur and Dasht-e Barchi townships in Kabul and the northern regions, which continued from 2002 to 2010. Throughout this period, Dostum’s forces and their allies, in full view of the incompetent and powerless officials of the collapsed republican regime, seized over 1000 acres of government land and converted it into residential townships for their loyal forces.
These actions at that time led to the displacement of Hazaras and Tajiks. In support of this claim, one of the country’s television networks also reported in 2013 that Dostum’s commanders had seized 500 acres of land in SarePul, indicating the continuation of this pattern in the villages.
During the same period, agricultural lands in Sarepul and Faryab were also targeted for seizure by Dostum and his mercenaries from 2006 to 2015. The forces of the Junbish seized 500 to 800 acres of land from the Ishaqzai tribe, which led to the forced displacement and homelessness of approximately 50 families.
Reports of Dostum’s forces firing on local farmers in 2007 suggest that these notorious mercenaries forced farmers to relocate; seizures that not only threatened the region’s food security but also increased ethnic tensions and sowed discord and resentment within Afghan society.
The seizure of state property in Balkh province, however, continued from 2010 to 2020, until the final days of the corrupt republic, where the Junbish party, led by Dostum, seized state property for party purposes. At this time, over 1,000 acres of land were also seized in Balkh province, which exacerbated tensions with another notorious warlord, Atta Mohammad Noor, the leader of the Jamiat-e-Islami party, and increased ethnic divisions.
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