VANCOUVER, CANADA –Local sources in Takhar province report that armed nomadic Gujar tribes supported by the Taliban have clashed with local residents in Farkhar district over grazing land.
This confrontation occurred yesterday, May 14, in the village of Khurram Ab in Farkhar district. The Taliban, intervening in support of the Gujars, a small nomadic minority, have reportedly detained several villagers who are still in Taliban custody. Sources indicate that armed Gujars, backed by the Taliban’s security command in Farkhar, attempted to bring their cattle into Khurram Ab but faced resistance from the local residents, leading to the confrontation.
A source informed KabulNow that Syed Abdul Wali Arshad, the Taliban security commander in Farkhar, went to Khurram Ab and allocated the grazing land to the Gujars. The local residents opposed the decision and protested against the Taliban.
Despite filing complaints with the Taliban authorities in Farkhar, their petitions have not been addressed. Protesters’ representatives planned to travel to Kabul to lodge complaints with higher Taliban authorities, but the Taliban security commander in Farkhar prevented them.
Local Taliban officials in Takhar have yet to comment on the matter. Since the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan, disputes over grazing land and agricultural fields have increased across the country, with nomadic tribes often claiming ownership of lands and grazing areas of local residents.
Last year, on May 29, 2023, sources in Shaikh Ali district of Parwan reported that Kuchis clashed with local residents in the Shingrian valley over grazing land, with the Taliban siding with the Kuchis. When the Kuchis attempted to enter the Shingrian valley with their livestock, they faced resistance from the local residents, leading to a clash. The Taliban backed the Kuchis, claiming ownership of a farm belonging to a man named Noorullah, stating it was their “ancestral property,” and raided his home and arrested him.
The Taliban have frequently been accused of supporting non-local individuals who often enter villages armed. KabulNow revealed in an investigative report how conflicts between locals and Kuchis have escalated to extortion sprees, documenting incidents in various provinces, including Takhar, Parwan, Daikundi, Bamiyan, Maidan Wardak, and Kabul.
