In Afghanistan, Who Has the Guns Gets the Land – The New York Times
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan For decades, roughly a thousand families called the low-slung mud-walled neighborhood of Firqa home. Some moved in during the 1990s civil war, while others were provided housing under the previous government.
Soon after the Taliban takeover on Aug. 15, the new government told them all to get out.
Ghullam Farooq, 40, sat in the darkness of his shop in Firqa last month, describing how armed Taliban fighters came at night, expelling him at gunpoint from his home in the community, a neighborhood of Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan.
All the Taliban said was: Take your stuff and go, he said.
Those who fled or were forcibly removed were quickly replaced with Taliban commanders and fighters.
Thousands of Afghans are facing such traumatic dislocations as the new Taliban government uses property to compensate its fighters for years of military service, amid a crumbling economy and a lack of cash.
Over decades, after every period of upheaval in Afghanistan, property becomes a crucial form of wealth for those in power to reward followers. But this arbitrary redistribution also leaves thousands displaced and fuels endless disputes in a country where the land ownership system is so informal that few people hold any documentation for the ground they call their own.
Just as during past changes in government, distributing property to Taliban disciples in swaths of rural farmland and in desirable urban neighborhoods has turned into at least a short-term recourse to keep stability within the Taliban ranks.
Who has the guns gets the land, said Patricia Gossman, the associate Asia director for Human Rights Watch. Its an old, long continuing story.
In a largely pastoral nation split by rugged mountain ranges, dotted with deserts and little forest, land is one of the most important assets and a flashpoint, fueling blood feuds between neighbors, ethnic groups and warlords as power has changed hands. Conflicting legal systems dictating land ownership and a lack of documentation have further destabilized the property market through the generations.
Afghanistan Under Taliban Rule
With the departure of the U.S. military on Aug. 30, Afghanistan quickly fell back under control of the Taliban. Across the country, there is widespread anxiety about the future.
The country is slightly smaller in land area than Texas, with a population that has grown in past decades to around 39 million people. Yet, only one-eighth of Afghanistans land is farmable and shrinking under a crippling drought and changes wrought from climate change.
Todays land disputes in Afghanistan can be largely traced to the Soviet-backed regime that came to power in the late 1970s, which redistributed property across the country. This quickly fueled tensions as land was confiscated and given to the poor and landless under the banner of socialism.
Land redistribution continued to play out, first during the civil war in the early 1990s, and then under the rise of the Taliban. After the U.S. invasion in 2001, those same commanders who were once defeated by the Taliban went about distributing and stealing land once more, this time with the backing of the newly installed U.S.-supported government. American and NATO military forces contributed to the problem by seizing property for bases and doing little to compensate landowners.
Attempts by the Western-backed government over the past two decades to formalize land ownership and property rights ultimately proved futile as the incentives to take advantage of the system overwhelmed efforts to regularize it.
Now more than three months after the Talibans rise to power, its administrators are in a similar position, but with no official policy regarding land ownership.
We are still analyzing and investigating how to honor land deeds and titles for people, Bilal Karimi, a Taliban spokesman, said.
Local Taliban leaders have been seizing and reallocating property for years in districts they captured to reward fighters and the families of their dead with land to farm or sell for profit.
In 2019, when the Taliban arrived at Mullah Abdul Salams modest poppy farm in Musa Qala, in Helmand Province, he faced an impossible choice. Like many poor farmers in rural Afghanistan, he had no legal deed to prove he owned the ground he had cultivated for years.
So the Taliban gave him an ultimatum: Either pay a lump sum to keep his land or give it up.
We came early and we had the right to the land, Mr. Salam recalled, standing on the edge of his poppy field in Musa Qala, shovel in hand. It had to be ours.
For some time, the land in Musa Qala was unclaimed, undocumented and written off as unfarmable, except by a few farmers such as Mr. Salam. Then the ground became more fertile with the widespread growth of solar power that enabled farmers to run well pumps, at far lower expense than use of conventional fuel. The Taliban tried to strike a balance by allowing the poor farmers to remain at relatively small cost, while allocating unclaimed plots to its fighters.
Khoi, a brother of a Taliban fighter who goes by one name, was among the family members of the militants who received land in Musa Qala two years ago. Since then, he said, fellow Taliban veterans had profited by selling portions of the property gifted to them.
There is no more land for the Taliban to distribute here, if they could, they would, he said.
With no official guidance, Taliban officials have now resorted to the same practices throughout the country that carved up the area around Mr. Salams farm.
But as the Taliban distribute property, parts of the population have been left confused and angered by the actions of their new government, which suspiciously resemble the behavior of its predecessors.
In Takhar Province, a historically anti-Taliban stronghold in Afghanistans north, Taliban fighters have evicted people including some who had lived there for more than 40 years in several districts, saying the land was unfairly distributed by previous governments, said a former Afghan lawmaker on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation against her family.
Takhar residents, the former lawmaker said, have started to question whether Taliban administrators can run the country any more effectively than their predecessor, given how they are following the same practices as past governments.
The greatest issue for the Taliban going forward will be to deal with land documentation and legalization, said Fazal Muzhary, a former researcher at Afghanistan Analysts Network, a policy research group, who focused on land ownership in Afghanistan. So when the Taliban want to legalize or demarcate lands, they will also need to take back the lands from people who grabbed them in any period, in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and so on. This will be very challenging for them.
In central Afghanistan, property disputes of another nature are playing out: the marginalization and displacement of ethnic minorities in order to seize their arable land. Taliban leaders have long persecuted and antagonized the Hazaras, a mostly Shiite minority, and in recent months, the new government has watched as local strongmen evicted hundreds of families.
In September, Nasrullah, 27, and his family fled their village in Daikundi Province, along with around 200 families who left nearly everything, he said.
Such displacements have upended more than a dozen villages in central Afghanistan, affecting more than 2,800 Hazaras, according to a Human Rights Watch report.
In recent weeks, local courts have overturned some seizures, allowing some families to return. But for most, the evictions have been traumatic.
In each village the Taliban put a checkpoint, and the people arent allowed to take anything but our clothes and some flour, said Nasrullah, who goes by one name, during an interview in September. But I brought only my clothes.
Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar; Victor J. Blue from Kabul; Jim Huylebroek from Musa Qala; and Sami Sahakfrom Los Angeles.
Read the rest here:
In Afghanistan, Who Has the Guns Gets the Land - The New York Times
- Ukraine Risks Becoming to Trump What Afghanistan Was to Biden - Bloomberg.com - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- The Trump administration claims no one has died due to US aid cuts. Our trip to Afghanistan suggests otherwise - CNN - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- UN concerned as Afghanistan women arrested over Taliban dress code | World News - Hindustan Times - Hindustan Times - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Appeals court lets Trump revoke temporary protected status for migrants from Afghanistan and Cameroon - Washington Examiner - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Afghanistan Returnees Overview (as of 12 July 2025) - ReliefWeb - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Court rules Trump can remove protected status from immigrants from Cameroon and Afghanistan - MSN - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Afghanistan Kankor Results Announced: Concerns Over Manipulation and Lack of Transparency - 8am.media - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Court rules Trump can remove protected status from immigrants from Cameroon and Afghanistan - africanews.com - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- UN Warns of Crisis Facing Women Returning to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan - 8am.media - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Monday briefing: How the two-year effort to keep the Afghanistan data breach secret fell apart - The Guardian - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Germany presses ahead with deportations to Afghanistan - France 24 - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan Sign Deal to Study TransAfghan Railway - The Times Of Central Asia - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- UN: Afghanistan Faces Threat of Devastating Earthquakes - 8am.media - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Germany and EU allies back tougher asylum measures, including deportations to Afghanistan and Syria - France 24 - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: This years kankor exam results announced - Amu TV - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- The Nightmare of Return to Afghanistan: Hunger, Exile, and the QuestionWhere Do We Go? - Hasht-e Subh Daily - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Relatives of 2005 Chinook crash victims in Afghanistan find solace in one another - Stars and Stripes - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Ex-U.S. military interpreter from Afghanistan detained at East Hartford immigration office - New Haven Register - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Germany presses ahead with deportations to Afghanistan - themercury.com - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Afghanistan, Hundreds of Women Arrested in Kabul: Gender Apartheid - focusonafrica.info - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: car cooler hack beats the heat, passengers applaud the creative solution - WION - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrives in Kabul on a day-long visit to Afghanistan - Dawn - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Germany presses ahead with deportations to Afghanistan - The Sanford Herald - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- The latest lapse over Afghanistan? Liz Trusss memory - The Times - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- The United States Must Reclaim Afghanistan to Protect Its Interests - Fair Observer - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- We were lucky to escape Afghanistan alive nine months later, were still waiting to be brought to safety - The Independent - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Kazakhstan in Afghanistan: From Rhetoric to Infrastructure - The Times Of Central Asia - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: Paktika teacher sentenced to death over alleged blasphemy, sources say - Amu TV - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- ImpACT International | Talibans Kill List Exposes Brutal Repression and Impunity in Afghanistan - impactpolicies.org - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Hizb-ut-Tahrir Afghanistan Criticizes Russia's Recognition Of Afghan Taliban: 'Historically ... Russia Remains One Of The Most Determined Enemies Of... - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Data incident affecting applicants to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme and Afghanistan Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme -... - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- A future without women: Consequences of gender apartheid in Afghanistan - Global Voices - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Women This Week: Multilateral Organizations Increase Pressure on Taliban Over Oppression of Women and Girls in Afghanistan - Council on Foreign... - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Retreat from Afghanistan began as a farce, then it was a scandal, now it's a cover-up - news.sky.com - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- The Islamic State in Afghanistan: A Jihadist Threat in Retreat? - International Crisis Group - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Afghan nationals: have you arrived in the UK under the Afghanistan Response Route? - The Guardian - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Teen From Afghanistan Reported Missing in Tehran Amid Surge in Migrant Hostility - KabulNow - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: Young woman driven to opium fields by Taliban restrictions - Amu TV - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: An Open Wound Still Alive, in Need of Becoming a Nation Again - 8am.media - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Remittance Disruption from Iran Deepens Economic Crisis for the People of Afghanistan - 8am.media - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Retreat from Afghanistan began as a farce, then it was a scandal, now it's a cover-up - Yahoo - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Over 178,000 People in Northern Afghanistan Benefit from Special Trust Fund Support - 8am.media - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Russia becomes the first country to recognize the Taliban regime in Afghanistan - MSN - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan-Pakistan trade grows to nearly 1 bln USD in H1 - Xinhua - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan: End-year Response Gap Analysis of Financing, Achievements and Response Challenges (January -... - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan Taxi Drivers Resort To DIY Car Coolers To Beat The Heat: Works Better Than AC - MSN - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: Taxi drivers use handmade air coolers to beat the heat - BBC - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- 6-year-old girl sold into marriage with 45-year-old in Afghanistan; Taliban intervenes: Wait until shes - Times of India - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Barbie Battles Diabeetus, Angel Reese Is A Cover Athlete, And Afghanistan Is Open For Business - OutKick - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- In Cinema Jazireh, a Woman Dresses up as a Man in Taliban Afghanistan in Search of Her Son, Hope - The Hollywood Reporter - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Russia Recognizes Talibans Apartheid Regime in Afghanistan - Foreign Policy in Focus - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Shafiqa Jalali says she has a hard time sleeping, eating or going out knowing her son is incarcerated in the U.S. and is scheduled to be deported to... - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Russia Just Legitimized the TalibanWhat Comes Next for Afghanistan and the World? - Security Clearance Jobs - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Afghanistan Taxi Drivers Resort To DIY Car Coolers To Beat The Heat: Works Better Than AC - Times Now - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- 'Welcome to Afghanistan': Shocking tourism promo urging Americans to visit the country goes viral - Hindustan Times - Hindustan Times - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Trump dishes on Milley clash over leaving military equipment in Afghanistan: 'I knew he was an idiot' - Fox News - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Russia becomes the first country to recognize Taliban's rule in Afghanistan - NBC News - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Statement of the ICC Office of the Prosecutor on the issuance of arrest warrants in the Situation in Afghanistan - | International Criminal Court - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Following decades in Iran, 'there's nothing left' for millions of Afghan migrants in Afghanistan - France 24 - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- 45-year-old man in Afghanistan married a 6-year-old child: the Taliban's reaction was swift - - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Welcome to Afghanistan': This could be the most bizarre tourism video ever - Stuff - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- The Hairdressers Story: Exile, Loss, and a Forced Return to Afghanistan - 8am.media - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- ICC expresses sadness at the passing of Afghanistan umpire Bismillah Jan Shinwari - ICC - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- UN adopts resolution on Afghanistan's Taliban rule over US objections - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Will Pakistan Be Next to Recognise Taliban Rule in Afghanistan After Russia? - Times Now - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Russia becomes first nation to recognize Taliban government of Afghanistan since 2021 takeover - CNN - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- India abstains from UNGA resolution on Afghanistan, calls for coordinated global efforts against terrorism - News On AIR - - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Experts: Russia Recognizing Taliban Rule in Afghanistan Largely a Symbolic Move - The Moscow Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Pakistan warns UN of escalating terror threat from Afghanistan - Dawn - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Tourists are trickling into Afghanistan. The Taliban are eager to welcome them - The Seattle Times - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Troops kill 30 militants trying to get into Pakistan from Afghanistan - Euronews - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Trump News | 'Afghanistan Maybe The Most Embarrassing Moment In The History Of US': Donald Trump - NDTV - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Tourists are trickling into Afghanistan and the Taliban government is eager to welcome them - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Afghanistan Emerges as a New Frontier for Adventure Tourism: A Blend of Promise and Challenges - Travel And Tour World - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: A Hidden Gem That Deserves to Be Seen Up Close - Vocal - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Russia Becomes First Nation To Recognize Taliban-Led Afghanistan - The Media Line - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Russia is the first country to recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan - Commonspace.eu - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Russia Becomes First State to Recognise Taliban Government of Afghanistan - UNITED24 Media - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Russia becomes first country to officially recognise Taliban in Afghanistan - bne IntelliNews - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- The Unexpected Consequences of War Between Iran and Israel on Afghanistan - The Diplomat Asia-Pacific Current Affairs Magazine - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]