Badakhshan Under Mafia Control; Systematic Plunder of Gold Mines and Taliban’s Structural Corruption

Kokcha News Agency: A well-organized mafia network, backed by Taliban-affiliated figures, is systematically looting gold mines and other natural resources in Badakhshan province. Local sources report that the Taliban-appointed governor of Badakhshan is deeply involved in the illegal extraction and smuggling of minerals, using loyalists to weaken local Taliban factions and consolidate control over the region’s wealth.

The network, allegedly led by Faisal Khorasani with the support of Maulvi Saifuddin Tayeb, deputy head of the Taliban’s administration, is exploiting gold mines in the Shahr-e-Bozorg district and other areas of Badakhshan. This rampant extraction not only robs the nation of its wealth but also causes severe environmental damage, raising fears of an impending ecological crisis.

Sources claim that individuals accused of killing several miners have been pardoned by the Taliban and rearmed, now freely operating in the Ab Ghandeh area of Shahr-e-Bozorg, where they harass locals and extort money. Additionally, Khorasani has reportedly hired social media influencers to whitewash his image, paying them monthly to spread pro-Khorasani propaganda online.

The Taliban’s corruption extends to their collaboration with Chinese mining projects, where senior Taliban leaders, including Fasihuddin Fitrat, head of the Taliban’s military staff, and Maulvi Amanuddin, are said to be taking significant shares. In local projects, the Taliban’s mining chief reportedly takes 5-10% of each project’s profits, allowing illegal mining to flourish as long as he receives his cut.

The Taliban-appointed governor of Badakhshan, Ayub Khalid, has also been accused of seizing 20 acres of land in the Sorkh-e-Aviz area for personal mining operations. Khalid has further marginalized local Taliban factions by appointing loyalists from Kandahar, consolidating his control over both mining and drug smuggling networks in the region.

In a disturbing revelation, sources allege that Maulvi Saifuddin Tayeb has married three times in the past two years, while other local Taliban officials have engaged in multiple forced marriages. Faisal Khorasani, known as Raziullah, is accused of torturing his first wife and is now engaged to a young girl, threatening his first wife with “harsher treatment” if she continues to protest.

The systematic plunder of Badakhshan’s resources, coupled with widespread corruption, forced marriages, and environmental destruction, paints a grim picture of the Taliban’s rule. While the local population suffers from increasing poverty and insecurity, the Taliban and their affiliates continue to exploit Afghanistan’s natural wealth for personal gain.