KABUL, AFGHANISTAN– Ayatullah Waez Zadah Behsoudi, the most reputable Shia religious authority in Afghanistan says the Taliban should stop the Pashtun nomadic tribes’ incursion, particularly in central parts of the country.
During his Eid sermon, on Wednesday, April 10 Mr. Behsodi said that the annual influx of armed Kochis, as the nomadic tribes are called, into the villages is a major challenge for local residents.
The cleric who has so far challenged the regime in Kabul several times was cautious not to question the practice of nomadic life, which has been an increasingly politicized and controversial subject.
He said while the Kochis should have the freedom to move wherever they own land, they should not be armed and must avoid causing harm to local residents.
Earlier in 2024, Mr. Behsoudi lashed out at the Taliban for allowing an Iran-backed junior cleric to propagate against the former government, including claiming that hundreds of Christian churches and brothel houses were operating in Kabul.
The Taliban who had almost forced Mr. Behsoudi to talk at the event in order to portray an image of having cordial relationships with the Shia and Hazara population, were reluctant to act at the beginning. However, as the public outcry mounted, authorities summoned Hussaini-Mazari, the Iranian-supported cleric for questioning.
It appears that Mr. Behsoudi’s solid command of a wide constituency and his principled approach has deterred the regime from letting go of their disapproval of his harsh criticism.
Mr. Behsoudi, whose birthplace in the Behsoud district of Maidan Wardak, some 200KM south of Kabul, has for long been a contestation arena between villagers and the nomads, had previously criticized the former government also for its lack of action to solve what has become a century long conflict.
Kochis, who are predominantly Pashtun tribes from the Afghanistan-Pakistan tribal belt, claim that huge swaths of lands across Afghanistan, particularly in Central highlands where Hazaras live, have been given to them by Afghan monarchs as early as late 19th century.
Every spring, the nomads venture across Afghanistan, growingly armed with heavier weaponry and more political support from the state in Kabul. In the name of claiming their land, they burn houses, loot property, kill villagers, take people hostage for ransom, and destroy agricultural crops.
Hazaras argue that the conflict stems from a longstanding history of persecution and marginalization of them at the hands of the Pashtun-dominated state beginning with a genocidal campaign in early 1890s that killed more than half of the community or sold them into slavery.
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the situation has only worsened. In most disputes, local residents have accused the regime of siding with the Pashtun nomads, purportedly to depopulate the area of non-Pashtuns Reports show that thousands of Hazaras have been forcibly displaced, their lands and other properties confiscated by the Taliban or groups affiliated with them in central Afghanistan.
An investigative report by KabulNow revealed that Kochis, directly backed by the Taliban, have extorted significant amounts from local residents in at least 13 provinces our colleagues investigated. According to the report’s findings, Kochis have brought bogus claims as old as 4 decades without any evidence.
The report found that from September 2021 until August 2023, villagers had paid Kochis over $800,000 as blood money and over $25,000 as Diyya, the compensation in Islamic law for unintentional bodily harm.
With direct support from the Taliban, the Kochis have seized arable land, homes, and in certain instances, entire villages, forcing local residents to vacate their indigenous habitats.
In his Wednesday address, the Shia cleric emphasized that his stance is not against the Kochis themselves, but rather against acts of aggression, encroachment, and the infringement of rights upon local residents.
The solution, Mr. Behsoudi said, is simple: permanent settlement of the nomadic tribes. The solution that advocates the like of Mr. Behsoudi argues that the plain has proven difficult to sell to the state authorities in Kabul, whoever they be. With the Taliban in power, the lines between government forces and the nomads are increasingly blurred.
For the local Hazara villagers who have suffered so much at the hands of both the Taliban and the nomads, it makes little difference whose banner is on the truck that comes with guns following their Nawroz celebration.
